An earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck in the Molucca Sea, some 134km northwest of the Indonesian island of Ternate, at 4:18pm local time on Thursday.
A tsunami threat message was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for all coasts within 300km of the epicenter, affecting a number of Indonesian islands within the hour. Residents were advised to remain alert and seek instructions from local authorities.
A tsunami alert was also issued by the Indonesia Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
The quake struck at a depth of 62km between the islands of Ternate and Sulawesi.
The same area was struck by a 6.9 magnitude quake in July, with an earlier quake of 6.3 magnitude hitting the island of Ternate directly in March.
