JAKARTA - A strong earthquake rocked parts of eastern Indonesia today, causing some residents to flee their homes in panic. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was initially measured at magnitude 6.4 and struck 183 kilometres west of Jayapura in Papua province.
Quakes of 6.5 magnitude and above can cause extensive damage depending on depth and other factors.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago with 17,500 islands, is prone to seismic upheavals because of its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire.''
A giant quake off Indonesia's Sumatra island in 2005 spawned the Asian tsunami and killed more than 230,000 people in 11 countries.
