Tsunami Scare After Indonesian Quake

A powerful earthquake in northeastern Indonesia on Tuesday caused panicked residents to flee shaking buildings on islands in the Maluku Sea and briefly triggered a tsunami warning, officials said.

The 6.5-magnitude temblor struck 130 miles from Ternate, the capital of Maluku island, and 233 miles from Manado, the northernmost city on Sulawesi island, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

"We called local authorities in Ternate and coastal areas to warn them of a potential tsunami," said Fauzi, an Indonesian seismologist who goes by only one name, adding that it turned out to be a false alarm.

One hour after the quake struck, there were no signs of seismically triggered waves.

It was not immediately clear if the temblor, which was centered at a depth of around 20 miles, caused any injuries, and damage appeared to be largely limited to cracks in buildings.

Frightened residents fled their homes and at least one hotel in Ternate was evacuated.

"It was very strong, my house was shaking for 40 seconds," said George Rajaloa. "People started running into the streets, some heading to high ground."

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, an earthquake off Sumatra island spawned the tsunami (read more) which killed more than 160,000 people in Indonesia – more than in any of the 11 other nations affected by the disaster, which all together saw more than 230,000 people perish.

Life has not returned to normal In Sumatra, where about 70,000 people are still living in housing meant to be temporary.

Tuesday's tremor came less than a month after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit in roughly the same spot, killing at least three people.