There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which hit 280 km (175 miles) south of the province of Gorontalo at a depth of 43 km, the agency added.

The quake was felt strongly in the nickel mining region of Morowali. Vale, with a nickel smelter, and Donggi-Senoro with an LNG plant, said operations were running as normal.

It was “strong and long lasting”, Gina Saerang, a resident of Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, several hundred miles from the epicentre, said on social media.

“I ran straight outside after the earthquake – everything was swaying,” 29-year-old Palu resident Mahfuzah added.

In the Palu tragedy in September, high waves hit the shore after the tsunami warning had been lifted.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

But damage is possible in poorly built or badly designed structures, the United States Geological Survey said.

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