A major 7.4-magnitude offshore quake struck in eastern Indonesia early Thursday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, with a US monitoring centre issuing a warning of possible "hazardous tsunami waves" within 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) of the epicentre.The quake hit at a local time of 6:48 am (2248 GMT Wednesday) at a depth of 35 kilometres in the Molucca Sea, the USGS said, off the small island of Ternate.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said hazardous tsunami waves were possible "within 1,000 km of the epicenter" along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.
An AFP journalist in Manado, North Sulawesi province, said the shaking woke him and others in the city, who rushed outdoors.
"I immediately woke up and left my house. People (were) immediately scrambling outside. There is a school and the pupils rushed outside," he said.
The shaking persisted for "quite long" but he did not witness "significant damage", he added.
