Residents leave coastal areas as strong quake strikes eastern Indonesia

JAKARTA - Residents living at coastal areas in Indonesia's eastern province of Maluku fled from the territory as a tsunami alert is in place after a 7.9 magnitude quake hit the province earlier Tuesday, an official and weather agency said.

"The residents in Maluku Barat Daya district have escaped from coastal areas, because a tsunami is potential to occur there," Eva M.F. Tuhumury, a senior official of disaster management agency in the province, told Xinhua via phone.

She said that the residents were asked to go to a higher ground for their safety, the official said.

The country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency issued a tsunami warning for the province and a nearby province of Southeast Sulawesi after the strong quake jolted the province.