Indonesia earthquake with 7.4 magnitude tremor and Tsunami warning

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 was recorded on Thursday off the coast of an Indonesian island. Its epicenter was more than 100 kilometers offshore. A tsunami warning has been issued.

The tremor was measured 83 miles (134km) from the port city of Ternate at a depth of 30 miles (45km), according to the US Geological Survey.

The quake, which happened at 5.17am Friday, NZ time, was measured at 45km deep with a magnitude of 7.1 according to USGS. It was centred 138 kilometres northwest of Kota Ternate, Indonesia.

A tsunami threat message was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) for all coasts within 300km of the epicenter, affecting a number of Indonesian islands within the hour. Residents were advised to remain alert and seek instructions from local authorities.

"Most likely a tsunami won't hit the land, but we still need to be on alert," Rahmat Triyono, a senior official at BMKG told the local Kompas TV. "We issued the tsunami warning with an alert that any tsunami is estimated at only at a height of around 50 centimeters (around 20 inches)," he added.

In July, the area was hit with a 7.2 quake with the epicentre recorded in in the city of Ternate on Halmahera, the largest island in North Maluku on the eastern side of the country.

On Monday, southeastern France as been struck by an unusual 5.4 magnitude earthquake- the strongest tremor to hit the mainland in nearly two decades. Four people were injured by the tremor, which was reportedly felt from Lyon to Montpellier when it struck just before noon, local time.