People gather outdoors at Batu Merah village in Ambon, Indonesia's Maluku islands, following a 6.5-magnitude earthquake on Sep 26, 2019.

According to the United States GeologicalSurvey (USGS), the quake, initially measured at a magnitude of 6.8, struckabout 37km northeast of Ambon in Maluku province at 8.46 am local time, at adepth of 29km.

There were no immediate reports ofcasualties or major damage in the area.

Indonesia, which lies on the seismicallyactive Pacific Ring of Fire, often experiences earthquakes and tsunamis.

In August, five people died and several wereinjured after a powerful undersea earthquake struck Java Island.

In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and asubsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi Island left more than 4,300 people deador missing.

On December 26, 2004, a 9.1-magnitudeearthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000people across the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia./. VNA