Earthquake of 6.4 magnitude strikes in east Indonesia, no Tsunami alert: USGS

An earthquake of 6.4 magnitude struck on Wednesday near Indonesia's Moluccas islands, the United States Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the islands in the east of the archipelago.

The quake struck at a depth of 52 kilometres under the Molucca Sea at about 3:40 pm (0740 GMT), between the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera, the US Geological Survey said.

A senior official from Indonesia's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency, Mochammad Riyadi, said the quake was felt strongly on Halmahera, which is part of the Maluku Island chain. Indonesia is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.