Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said on Sunday the magnitude 6.5 earthquake was centered about 53 km northeast of Waren, a town on the northern coast of Papua island. The quake, with a depth of 132 km, caused residents in Serui to pour into the streets in panic, said Daud Yusuf of the agency's local office.

He said the tremor was also felt in nearby Biak Island, and Enarotali town on the main island. The US Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 6.4 at a depth of 36.1 km.