A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Moluccas in eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, prompting panicked residents to flee their homes.
Indonesian authorities reported no immediate damage or casualties.
The epicenter of the quake was at sea 150 kilometers northwest of the island of Halmahera in the Molucca archipelago at a depth of 48 kilometers, said the American seismological institute USGS.
The earthquake occurred at 1:06 p.m. local time (6:06 a.m. GMT). Originally measured at 7.2, its magnitude was later revised to 7.0 by the USGS.
“The earthquake was felt for 15 to 20 seconds. The tremors were quite long,” said an AFP journalist on the island of Morotai in the Molucca archipelago.
“Some local residents came out because they were afraid the buildings would collapse.”
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had warned that tsunami waves up to 300 kilometers around the epicenter were “possible” before lifting its warning.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the first quake was followed by five aftershocks, the main of which measured 5.3 magnitude.
Indonesia is subject to frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide.
On November 21, 602 people died in a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that struck the densely populated West Java province on the main island of Java.
Recently, on January 10, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia and East Timor, also deep in the ocean. According to the civil protection agency, one person was injured and 15 houses and two schools were destroyed.
The deadliest earthquake in Indonesia, which struck off Sumatra on December 26, 2004, claimed more than 230,000 lives as far away as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand and caused gigantic waves up to 30 meters high on the coast of Banda Aceh, North Sumatra. It was magnitude 9.1.