A shallow earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 hit east Indonesia on Wednesday morning, triggering panic but with no casualties or property damages reported so far, the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency and military officers said.

The quake struck at 01:51 Jakarta time (1851 GMT Tuesday) with epicenter at 27 kms northwest Tolitoli of Central Sulawesi province and at 12 kms under sea bed, an official of the agency Bayu Pranata told Xinhua.

The intensity of the quake was felt at 4 to 5 MMI (Modified Mercally Intensity) at Tolitoli, 3 to 4 MMI in Palu and 3 MMI in Poso of the province, he said.

The quake caused panic among residents at Tolitoli as electricity supply was cut off, an officer in charge at Tolitoli military command named only Lahode said. "People living around this military office were scared.

They rushed out from their houses and are now still afraid to return home. They are scared for a possible after shock," he told Xinhua over phone from the military command office. "So far there is no report of house or building damaged," the officer added.

 In Palu, the quake resulted in neither property destruction nor panic, an officer of the military command in Palu Praswanto told Xinhua over phone from the office. Spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency Priyadi Kardono also confirmed that there was no impact of the quake. Indonesia, homed by over 230 million people, is laid on a vulnerable quake-hit zone known as the Pacific ring of Fire, where two continental plates, stretching from Western hemisphere to Japan, meet and cause frequent seismic and volcanic movements.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2009)