A powerful earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia early Thursday at 06:48 local time, triggering tsunami warnings across the region. Small tsunami waves hit the Indonesian coasts, killing at least one person, reported news agency AP. Several houses and buildings were damaged in the earthquake, officials said.

The tsunami warning has now been lifted, reported BBC. “Based on all available data… the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed,” the website quoted the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The quake’s epicentre was located roughly 120km (74.5 miles) from Ternate, a city with a population exceeding 205,000. The tremor, initially estimated at a magnitude of 7.8, occurred in the Molucca Sea near the heart of the Indonesian archipelago, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It lasted for nearly 10 seconds.

Within 30 minutes of the tremor, tsunami waves were detected at multiple monitoring points. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency reported wave heights of 20 centimetres (8 inches) in Bitung and 30 centimetres (about a foot) in West Halmahera. In the southern Philippines, waves measuring 5 centimetres (2 inches) were recorded in Davao, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said, adding that no wider threat remained roughly three hours after the quake.

The earthquake was strongly felt in Bitung, a coastal city in North Sulawesi, as well as nearby areas and Ternate in neighbouring North Maluku, Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency said.