Officials have said that a strong earthquake shook the north-eastern Indonesian province of North Malaku on Sunday but there appeared to be no tsunami potential.

The Indonesian news agency Antara reported that the earthquake measured 7.0 on the Richter scale when it hit South Halmahera. He had not yet gotten a report about casualty and material damage, South Halmahera deputy district head Rusi Wally said.

The people in Labuha scrambled out of their homes for fear of an aftershock or tsunami, Rusi added.

There was no real damage, and the epicenter was 1.58 degrees southern latitude and 128.20 degrees eastern longitude, a spokesman for the local meteorology and geophysics center said.

Antara further reported that the temblor was strong enough to be felt in Masohi and Ambon in Central Maluku district. (With Input from Agencies)