6.8 magnitude quake strikes in Indonesia's Banda Sea, no tsunami alert

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake jolted a remote part of eastern Indonesia late Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning issued and no immediate reports of damage.

The undersea quake struck at a depth of some 107 kilometres (66 miles) in the sea between Indonesia's Maluku and East Timor at 22:50 local time (13:50 GMT).

The epicentre was about 390 kilometres south of the city of Ambon in the archipelago's Maluku province.

"We have not received any reports of damages so far as a result of the quake. The result of our modeling also shows that the earthquake did not trigger any potential tsunami," said Taufan Maulana, the spokesman of Indonesia's weather and geophysics bureau.

The bureau further reported that the tremors were strongly felt by people on nearby small islands, as well as those in some cities in Papua, the easternmost province of Indonesia.

Researcher Fawwaz Rifasya told AFP that he was on the fourth floor of a hotel in Manokwari, Papua, when he felt the building swaying.

Meanwhile, Andika Baskoro in Merauke, Papua, said that he noticed the quake after he saw hanging lamps and water in a gallon swaying.

An AFP journalist in Dili, East Timor, roughly 400 kilometres away, reported feeling a slight tremor.

Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

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