Indonesia lifts tsunami warning

A strong undersea earthquake hit North Maluku province in eastern Indonesia today, triggering panic among frightened residents…

A strong undersea earthquake hit North Maluku province in eastern Indonesia today, triggering panic among frightened residents and a brief tsunami warning.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties after the quake, which the US Geological Survey put at magnitude 6.7 and the epicentre at a depth of 45 kilometres.

The agency had initially put the quake at magnitude 7.4 and a depth of 88 kilometres.

"We have lifted the warning. After monitoring, there were no signs of tsunami," the head of the seismology centre in Indonesia's meteorology agency said.

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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre also said on its website that it did not expect a "destructive Pacific-wide" tsunami but said quakes of this magnitude can sometimes create local tsunamis.

Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes. The island chain lies along the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", where several tectonic plates collide.

Earlier today, a moderate undersea quake jolted Indonesia's Aceh province, but there were no reports of any casualties or damage, the Meteorological and Geophysics agency said.

In December 2004, a massive undersea quake and tsunami hit Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra island, leaving as many as 170,000 dead or missing in that province. Many thousands more were killed in other Indian Ocean nations.