The earthquake struck deep in the sea north of Bali and Lombok islands in Indonesia, sending residents and tourists running out of buildings.

The quake’s epicentre early on Tuesday was 203km north of Mataram, Indonesia, and very deep at 516km below the Earth’s surface, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.

The US Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 and was centred in the Bali Sea 181 kilometres northeast of Gili Air, a tiny island near Lombok, next to Bali. It occurred at a depth of 513.5 kilometres.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami but warned of dangers from aftershocks. The agency put the quake’s preliminary magnitude at 7.4. Variations in early measurements are common.

The quake was felt just before 4am across coastal areas in Bali and Lombok and was followed by two quakes of magnitude 6.1 and 6.5, according to the Indonesian geological agency.

Guests at Bali’s Mercure Kuta Bali ran out of their rooms after feeling the tremor, hotel manager Suadi said.

“Several guests left their rooms but were still in the hotel area,” he said, adding there was no damage to the building.

There were no immediate reports of damage, the Indonesian disaster agency BNPB said.

People in the neighbouring provinces of East Java, Central Java, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara also felt the tremors as houses and buildings swayed for several seconds.

Indonesia is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific.

Last year a magnitude 5.6 earthquake killed at least 331 people and injured almost 600 in West Java’s Cianjur city. It was the deadliest in Indonesia since a 2018 quake and tsunami in Sulawesi killed some 4340 people.

A 2021 earthquake near Karangasem killed at least three people,  triggering landslides and cutting off at least three villages.

-AAP