National rescue and disaster agencies said the quake damaged houses and public buildings, while video footage from affected areas showed flattened structures and frightened residents gathering in the streets.
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The shaking was felt strongly in Ternate, Bitung and Manado, prompting evacuations as authorities warned people to stay away from weakened buildings and low‑lying coastal areas.
The quake struck at a depth of about 35 kilometres, making it shallow enough to cause strong ground movement across eastern Indonesia. Officials said tsunami waves of up to 75 centimetres above normal tide levels were recorded at several monitoring points before the alert was lifted.
Dozens of aftershocks followed, including one measured at above 6.0, as emergency teams continued damage assessments in remote communities.
The latest disaster again underlined Indonesia’s exposure to seismic risk across the Pacific Ring of Fire, where major earthquakes and volcanic activity are frequent.
