Authorities lift tsunami warning hours after urging residents to ‘evacuate to higher ground’ following powerful tremor.

Indonesia’s geophysics agency has lifted a tsunami warning after a strong earthquake earlier struck off the islands of Sumatra and Java.

The 6.9 magnitude quake struck offshore on Friday at a depth of 42 kilometres, some 150km from Labuan, southwest of the capital Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). 

Panicked residents fled their homes as the quake hit, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Images from affected areas showed the walls of buildings cracked by the force of the quake, with bricks and other debris strewn on the ground. 

The USGS initially put the quake’s magnitude at 6.8 before raising its intensity.

Indonesia’s disaster agency pegged the quake at magnitude 7.4 and warned it could spark a tsunami. It called on residents on the Banten coast to “immediately evacuate to higher ground”.

The warning was lifted around three hours later.

“The early tsunami warning has ended,” the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency said in a brief statement.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, but strong tremors were felt in the capital, Jakarta, prompting people to run from office buildings.

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