A tsunami warning has been issued for eight cities in Indonesia following a 7.1-magnitude earthquake.

The quake struck in the Molucca sea between the islands of Sulawesi and North Maluku at a depth of 22 miles, according to Indonesia’s geophysics agency BMKG.

Several smaller aftershocks followed and waves of up to half a metre (1.6 ft) are predicted for the nearest coastlines.

It caused panic in the city of Ternate, where people ran to higher ground. Some hospitals in the city, around 80 miles from the epicentre, sustained minor damage and had to evacuate patients, according to local media.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The national geophysics agency had not lifted the tsunami warning over an hour after the quake.

Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Show all 23 1 /23 Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Photojournalist Paddy Dowling traveled with UK based charity Muslim Aid to the disaster areas of North Sulawesi to witness the scale of Indonesia’s earthquake & tsunami. In this photo a man sifts through the rubble of his home close to Darul Muttaqien Mosque in Palu. When the earthquake struck he was not there he was out with his family. “Thank god we are all fine” Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Lewi Kai 44 sat and waited for news of his wife next to the building that collapsed on her as a result of the earthquake in North Sulaawesi. Rescue workers rotating in shifts around the clock to recover her body Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Darul Muttaqien Mosque was the heart of the community for many here in Palu. Many victims were inside their homes or at the mosque when the quake struck at around 1800hrs. Magareb prayer for many muslims here was their final prayer Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 A young boy is dragged from the earth where JL Kenanga street once existed and placed in an orange body bag to be carried to a mass grave in Palu Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Many vehicles in Palu due to the quake were lifted from their original location. The owner of this pickup pointing to over 50 feet from where it was last parked Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Residents of an IDP camp in Donggala queue for food distribution in an old disused open air theatre. Local NGOs are doing fantastic work here in Indonesia with this crisis however the road to help the victims of this disaster is a long one. Muslim Aid is the only British NGO delivering aid out in Palu through local partners Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 SARS workers drill through reinforced concrete in a collapsed building in Palu. The build is unstable so they must work fast to recover the last body in the floor below Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Military soldiers work tirelessly in the searing heat to recover and bury the dead here in Palu. A familiar silhouette, In pairs they carry members of the community to their final resting place Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Two young men in Palu sift through the rubble in front of their home. They salvage as much wood as they could tying it into bundles to store as firewood for fuel to use cooking in the kitchen Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 The rows of body bags zipped up and lined up here in Palu is rising daily. JL Kenanga street in Palu is where locals say hundreds of bodies may still be buried under the rubble Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 A body recovered from Perumnas Baloroa in Palu lay on the road outside the morgue in the blistering heat of the day. The smell of death is everywhere here in Palu Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Military soldiers take refreshment and shade under a tree as they watch the digger recover the dead of Paul and Donggala Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Bubba, 65, has waited patiently for eight days for news of his missing son feared buried below the rubble Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 SARS teams exit a building in Palu metres from the destroyed of Ramayana shopping Mall. They are searching for a body of a woman still unaccounted for. Her husband waits by for news nearby Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 An young Indonesian soldier is drafted up from Makassar in South Sulawesi to help during this national disaster. He had formally been posted to Sudan before arriving in Palu. He joins his team searching for the dead and taking them to the mass graves nearby Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Excavators work tirelessly digging through the earth to recover the bodies of this tragedy grinding through rock, mud and metal. Many locals lucky enough to survive watch heavy hearts as each corpse is placed into a body bag Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Residents of the district of Petobo in Palu wait behind a military cordon as the excavations continue in the distance. They wait in hope for news of the missing Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Residents return to sift through the rubble to salvage what they can of their belongings and the fabric of their homes such as corrugated tin and timber which can be used to build a temporary shelter elsewhere Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 35 bodies excavated in a single afternoon alone in Palu in the shadows of Darul Muttaqien Mosque Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 The level of destruction in Palu caused by the earthquake on 28th September resembled a scene from an apocalyptic film Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Public donations of food, bottled water and clothing arrives at Siding Hajj Home IDP Camp in Makassar. Indonesia’s newest IDP camp which will home around10,000 people now homeless Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Military soldiers work tirelessly in the searing heat to recover and bury the dead here in Palu. A familiar silhouette, In pairs they carry members of the community to their final resting place Paddy Dowling Victims of Indonesia's Tsunami in 2018 Residents from the district of Petobo in Palu, saw houses, trees and cars disappear under the ground due to liquefaction. There is a 3km area for the diggers to excavate. To see more of Paddy's work please visit his website www.paddydowling.co.uk Paddy Dowling

“We have not ended it because we are still monitoring the tide gauges for high waves ... though none have been recorded yet,” Rahmat Triyono, a BMKG official, told Kompas TV.

Residents in the seaside resort city of Manado, 115 miles from the epicentre, said the quake was felt strongly for several seconds but no damage was reported.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at magnitude 6.9 at a depth of 15 miles.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

A powerful Indian Ocean quake and tsunami in 2004 killed a total of 230,000 people in a dozen countries, most of them in Indonesia.

Last month the coast of Indonesia was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake, which was felt in East Timor’s capital Dili and Australia’s most northern city, Darwin.

There were no reports of any damage or injuries as a result of the earthquake, and Indonesia’s geophysics agency said it did not cause a tsunami.