JAKARTA, Feb 19: A powerful earthquake rocked parts of Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, causing panic among residents, officials and media reports said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The earthquake registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 and was centred beneath the Flores Sea, about 70 kilometres west of the town of Bau Bau in south east Sulawesi, said Budi Sulistiono, an official of the local meteorological agency. It struck at 8:04am local time (0004 GMT), he said.

Mr Sulistiono said the depth of the quake was about 37 kilometres under the sea of Flores. The US Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 6.5 and was not related to the massive magnitude 9 quake that hit western Indonesia on Dec 26.

Jakarta's El-Shinta radio reported that residents fled their homes on Saturday in panic in Bau Bau, fearing another tsunami. However, officials told the radio station that there was no possibility of a tsunami from Saturday's quake. Residents in Bau Bau said there were no reports of any casualties or damage. -AFP