A strong 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit deep under the ocean off Indonesia and East Timor early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey reported.
The US earthquake observatory USGS reported the magnitude at 7.6 while the Indonesian agency BMKG estimated the magnitude at 7.9.
Residents in the northern Australian city of Darwin some 600 kilometres to the south felt the effects as well, the Australian website news.com.au reported.
Some spoke on social media of the worst tremors in decades.
The quake reportedly lasted two minutes, and occurred in the early hours of Tuesday in Indonesia.
Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning, but there were no reports of their fears materializing.
The earthquake's epicentre was in the sea about 350 kilometres north-east of East Timor.
According to the US earthquake observatory, the source was relatively deep - about 95 kilometres below the sea floor. The quakes that cause the greatest destruction usually occur much closer to the surface.
Indonesia lies on the so-called fire belt, an arc in the Pacific Ocean where Earth's plates meet. Numerous volcanoes are located there and severe earthquakes occur frequently.
