JAKARTA: A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesian islands on Friday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), but no tsunami alert was issued.

The undersea quake, at a depth of 38 kilometers, struck the Molucca Sea between Sulawesi and the Maluku chain of islands.

“The quake was felt strongly for five seconds, causing people to run from their homes,” the National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.