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The BMKG, the Indonesian government agency that monitors earthquakes, issued a warning for a possible tsunami within an hour of the earthquake having struck.

The agency later stated on its social media account that small waves of just 0.06 metres had struck in Ternate and 0.09 metres in Jailolo, both in North Maluku, had HIT, while in Bitung, in North Sulawesi province, a tsunami wave of just 0.1 metres had landed.

About two and a half hours after the earthquake struck, the BMKG's Rahmat Triyono told Metro TV the agency's tsunami warning had been rescinded.

Rahmat said an aftershock of 5.9 had also been detected but it did not have the potential to cause a tsunami. In total, 25 after shocks had been felt.

The initial warning specified a potential wave of zero to 0.5 metres, which could potentially cause damage but which is on the smaller end of the scale of tsunamis.

Vidoes were circulating on social media of locals in the two provinces evacuating their homes and other buildings. There are not yet any reports of major damage to buildings in the affected areas.

The BMKG's chief in Ternate, North Maluku, Hermizal - who uses just the one name - had earlier told Metro TV that no significant change in sea water levels had been detected.

A resident of the city of Tondano, in North Sulawesi province, told Metro TV she had never felt such a strong earthquake before.

Indonesia is situated on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which is frequently hit by earthquakes and sometimes accompanying tsunamis.

The most devastating in recent Indonesian history was on December 26 in 2004, when a magnitude-9.5 quake triggered a massive tsunami that killed around 226,000 people along the shorelines of the Indian Ocean, including more than 126,000 in Indonesia.

Last year, a tsunami hit the city of Palu in Sulawesi, killing thousands of people and devastating the city.