Earthquake with a 6.6-magnitude strikes off the coast near Timor

INDONESIA has been hit by another giant earthquake, this time near the Leti Islands off the coast of East Timor.

Another massive earthquake has hit Indonesia. Picture: Geoscience Australia.

A 6.6-MAGNITUDE earthquake has hit Indonesia’s Leti Islands, off the coast of East Timor in the Banda Sea.

The quake was felt as far away as Darwin.

The epicentre of the quake was 41km northeast of Sewaru on Leti, or 92km away from East Timor’s Tutuala.

It was a relatively deep event that struck 158km below the seabed.

Felt #earthquake M6.5 strikes 164 km NE of Gunung Dilarini (#Timor-Leste) 26 min ago. https://t.co/795aZ5unRF pic.twitter.com/rQY42IBmev

— EMSC (@LastQuake) December 21, 2016

Tremors were felt across East Timor and Indonesia and in Darwin, 624km from the epicentre.

The Bureau of Meteorology said there was not a tsunami threat to Australia.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Chris Kent told NT News the “significant” quake lasted several minutes.

““We’re on the third floor and it gave us a shake,” he said.

The “significant” quake struck off the coast of East Timor. Picture: Supplied

“TV nearly rattled off the cabinet, two storey house was swaying around,” said Rosie McCurrach on broadcaster ABC’s Darwin Facebook page.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The earthquake came less than two weeks after one which killed 100 people in Indonesia’s Aceh province. That quake, which struck north-western Sumatra, also registered 6.5 on the Richter scale and completed destroyed hundreds of buildings.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates collide.