A very powerful quake of 7.1 magnitude struck close to Indonesia's Moluccas islands on Thursday, causing panicked occupants to move to higher ground. Tsunami alert was later lifted and there were no immediate casualty reports.
The epicenter of the quake was in the sea, 86 miles northwest of the city of Ternate with its depth being 28 miles, as per the U.S. Geographical Survey. In excess of 20 post-quake tremors were observed.
Indonesia's geophysics organization lifted the warning of Tsunami following two hours since it saw only little waves in Ternate, Jailolo and Bitung.
The quake also saw power outages and residents fleeing to the hills. No reports of fatalities have been observed.
Tremors were strongly felt in the island of Sulawesi, toward the west of the epicenter, where people were advised to move to higher ground and avoid the sea shores.
Indah Lengkong, an inhabitant of the port city of Bitung in North Sulawesi, said that the house was unmistakably shaking.
Tremors shook structures in urban areas across North Sulawesi.
Indonesia is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which sees quakes very frequently, which sometimes even accompany Tsunamis. A 7.3 magnitude quake had struck the Moluccas islands in July, killing 4.
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