A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 50 miles (83km) off Papua province in Indonesia, sending panicked residents running from their homes, offices and schools. Authorities said the quake did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami. The US Geological Survey said it was centred just 18 miles beneath the ocean floor. There was some damage, but no immediate reports of injuries.

Children in the town of Manokwan, closest to the epicentre, were seen running from their schools screaming. Streets filled with those escaping shaking buildings. Suharjono, an official with the country's meteorology and geophysics agency, said no tsunami warning had been issued and there were no reports of serious damage or injuries. Indonesia, straddling a series of faultlines and volcanoes, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "ring of fire". Earlier this month an 8.6-magnitude earthquake and 8.2-magnitude aftershock struck off the coast of northern Indonesia, but did not trigger a tsunami despite warnings. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 killed 230,000 people, half of them in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.