Indonesia earthquake: tsunami warning after 7.4 magnitude quake hits

The earthquake was felt for several minutes

Villagers stand outside a building in Maumere in East Nusa Tenggara on Flores island on December 14, 2021, after a 7. 3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast in eastern Indonesia. (Photo by YANUARIUS ARLINO WELIANTO / AFP)

Children hide under a desk during the earthquake in Maumere. Reuters

A dust cloud forms on a hill in Nagekeo, Indonesia, after the earthquake. The country's meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning. Reuters

There were no immediate reports of damage or fatalities after the earthquake. Reuters

People wait outside a government building that was evacuated in Makassar, Indonesia, after the earthquake. AP

A handout map made available by the US Geological Survey shows the location of the quake that struck at a depth of 18.4 kilometres, 112km north of Maumere, Indonesia. EPA

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Tuesday triggering a tsunami warning, the meteorological department said, but there was no immediate word on any casualties or damage.

The quake struck at 0320 GMT in the Flores Sea, about 112km north-west of the town of Larantuka, in the eastern part of Flores island, at a depth of 12km.

“Everyone ran out into the street,” Agustinus Florianus, a resident of Maumere town on Flores, told Reuters. Maumere was badly damaged by a quake of a similar magnitude in 1992.

Tsunami warnings were issued for the areas of Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and south-east and South Sulawesi.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 7.3. An aftershock of 5.6 magnitude hit Larantuka after the first quake, the Indonesian agency said.

“It felt like a wave, up and down,” Zacharias Gentana Keranz, a resident of Larantuka told Reuters.

Alfons Hada Betan, head of East Flores Disaster Mitigation agency in Larantuka, said there were no immediate reports of damage and the quake was felt for several minutes as people left their homes.

People said on social media the earthquake was also felt strongly in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The US-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said, based on preliminary earthquake parameters, hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts located within 1,000km of the earthquake's epicentre.

Muhamad Sadly, an official with the meteorology agency, told Metro TV people should stay away from beaches, adding the tsunami warning would be lifted at least two hours after it was issued.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity that rests on top of multiple tectonic plates.

At least 48 people were killed and hundreds injured when the Mount Semeru volcano erupted on Java island on December 4.