A strong earthquake has struck Indonesia’s Java island, sparking fears of a tsunami.
Buildings in Jakarta were shaken after the 6.8 magnitude quake, which hit 94 miles off the island’s southwest coast.
Authorities urged those in coastal areas to head to higher ground in case of a tsunami after the quake hit on Friday.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami warning, watch or advisory after the quake, but Indonesian authorities issued their own.
Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, said the local tsunami alert will remain in place.
She called on people living in coastal areas to move to higher ground but she also urged people not to panic.
Buildings in Jakarta swayed for nearly a minute during the evening quake, with television footage showing workers and residents running out of high-rise buildings.
"It was so scary," said Gustiani Pratiwi, who was carrying two children near an apartment block in Jakarta when she felt the quake strongly.
The quake could also be felt in other cities such as Yogyakarta on Java island.
Radio and television reports said people felt a strong quake in Banten province and in Lampung province along the southern part of Sumatra island.
The temblor caused a panic among residents in several cities and villages, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of faultlines in the Pacific Ocean.
The majority of the world’s quakes occur in the area, often prompting tsunamis, including the ones on Boxing Day in 2004 and the deadly 2011 wave which hit Japan.
The 2004 tsunami was prompted by a magnitude 9.5 quake, killing around 226,000 people along the shorelines of the Indian Ocean, including more than 126,000 in Indonesia.
Last year, a tsunami hit the city of Palu in Sulawesi island, killing thousands, while a crater collapse at the Anak Krakatau volcano triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in an area near the latest quake.
