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A powerful 7.7-magnitude quake struck eastern Indonesia early on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, sending thousands running in panic after authorities issued a tsunami warning.
The shallow quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region with a depth of 10km at 5.58am local time and was followed by two aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 6.1.
Residents in Nagekeo regency, the area closest to the epicentre, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated – a possible sign of an approaching tsunami.
Authorities have since lifted the warning and no immediate casualties have been reported.
“Suddenly it started to shake and I panicked,” 31-year-old hospital customer service official, Lukas Lotar told AFP. “Patients also fled the hospital, the jolt was big. I saw some walls were cracked,” he added.
The epicentre of the quake was located off the north coast of the island, about 68km (42 miles) northwest of the coastal town of Ende, US and Indonesian authorities said.
A resident in Nagekeo, Yohanes Babo, 56, said he was at a market when the ground started shaking.
“The shaking was strong. Thankfully, we were already outside the house,” he said.
“People were panicking, running here and there. We’re evacuating for the time being … and trying to get to the hills,” he said, adding: “My family is safe. No one was harmed.”
Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami warning, which has now been lifted, and urged residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks.
“We have ended (the tsunami warning) but we will keep monitoring the sea level,” said BMKG earthquake and tsunami director Wijayanto.
Images broadcast on Indonesian television showed hundreds of people in nearby Nagekeo regency evacuating the area surrounded by the rubble of damaged buildings.
Authorities have not reported any casualties, but said tsunami waves between 19 and 30 centimetres have been detected.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
Separately, Australia’s tsunami warning centre said the undersea earthquake will have “no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories”.
*With Agence France-Presse and Reuters
