A magnitude 6.4 earthquake shook the coast of Timor-Leste and was so strong that it was felt in Darwin, Australia.
The quake struck at 11.36am local time (12.06pm Darwin time), according to Geosciences Australia, and caused some people in the capital Dili to flee the buildings, although a tsunami was ruled out.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but witnesses said the quake felt strong. A video shared on social media showed people leaving a Dili mall downstairs.
“It’s quite big,” East Timor’s GMN television news director Suni told Reuters in a text message.
“Our staff ran out of the building because it was shaking.”
The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers and affected about 29 kilometers east-southeast of Lospalos in Timor-Leste, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported that there were no tsunami threats in Australia.
The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency said the quake did not cause any tsunami warning.
The quake was also felt by residents in Darwin, more than 700 km away, according to Australian media reports and social media posts from residents.
“I was in my Darwin office three floors up and the monitors were shaking and the door frames creaking,” Ben Tuffnell said.
“You can hear the whole building shaking. All the staff came out of their offices saying it was one of the loudest tremors in recent years.
“It lasted 30 seconds.”
“Wow, I just heard the earth moving here in Darwin! An earthquake has just shaken our office building here in Casuarina! Does anyone else hear that?” William Daw said on Facebook.
“A decent earthquake in Darwin just then,” Mel Court reported on social media shortly afterwards.
“It seemed strange to me. A nice little tremor there, Darwin,” Ruth Davies said on Twitter.
East Timor and neighboring Indonesia are straddling the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active area where different plates of the earth’s crust are located and creating a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.