Strong quake strikes north of Indonesia's Sulawesi

Jakarta: A strong earthquake struck north of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, although there was no tsunami warning issued or immediate reports of damage or casualties, the country's meteorological agency said on Saturday.

The quake measured 6.5 on the Richter scale and was at a depth of 10 kilometres with the epicentre 117 kilometres northeast of Melonguane in the Talaud islands, the agency said.

Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes, lying in an area of intense seismic activity straddling a number of tectonic plates.