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JAKARTA - A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck Indonesia's main island of Java early Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The epicentre of the undersea quake, which struck at a depth of 291 kilometres (180 miles) was about 100 kilometres east of the capital Jakarta. The quake occurred just after midnight (1700 GMT).
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake was "located too deep inside the earth to generate a tsunami in the Indian Ocean."
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a bulletin saying there was "no possibility of a tsunami".
"I had literally just gone to bed and felt it," said Jakarta-based journalist John Aglionby, adding that it lasted for about a minute.
"There were an awful lot of people panicking in Jakarta. There weren't people running into the streets in my area but other people I've been speaking to say there was panic both here and in other cities nearby," he told AFP.
There were no immediate reports of damage, ElShinta radio reported.
The quake was felt as far away as the central city of Yogyakarta, some 400 kilometres southeast of the capital, the radio report said.
A 6.3-magnitude tremor rocked the Yogyakarta area in May 2006, killing more than 5,700 people and injuring 50,000 others.
Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province alone.
The archipelago sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
- AFP /ls
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