A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Wednesday, triggering a localised tsunami warning and panic as people fled their homes, officials and residents said. The quake struck at 12:16 pm (0316 GMT) about 123 kilometres (76 miles) southeast of Biak island, West Papua, officials said. It followed shortly after a 6.2-magnitude quake in the same area.
Residents of Manokwari, about 300 kilometres northwest of the epicentre, fled to open spaces as buildings swayed and the earth shook. "There was a swaying movement for about 40 seconds. People ran out of their homes," said an AFP correspondent in the town. There were no reports of major damage in the sparsely populated area from the quake, which the US Geological Survey measured at 7.0. Indonesia's Geophysics and Meteorological Agency issued a local tsunami warning but the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said no "Pacific-wide" wave was expected.
