A strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the southern part of Java, Monday. Many residents fled from the Indonesian port to look for higher grounds due to fear of an impending tsunami.

The epicentre of the earthquake in the Indian Ocean was 15 miles deep, said the US Geological Survey.

Seismologists in India placed the earthquake on magnitude 7.1 and announced a tsunami alert, saying that the strength of the tremor can potentially cause a gigantic wave. They sent a public alert SMS and asked the citizens to forward the said SMS to as many people as possible. The tsunami alert was cancelled eventually.

The earthquake, paired with the government’s tsunami warning, caused a lot of fear and panic among the people living in the seaport town of Cilacep. They were apparently, all shouting “quake, quake!”

Suharjono, Meteorology and Geophysics Agency technical head, said that the tremors were felt in Cilacep and Pangandaran. He further said that the earthquake had woken up people from sleep but they did not receive reports of casualties.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre already said that there are no risks of a huge wave, but there is a very slight chance of a local tsunami.

David Jepson, Australian seismologist, said that they received reports that the quake was felt in Christmas Island – a remote island that is a part of the Australian territories. The epicentre of the quake was 241 kilometers away from the island.

Geoscience Australia placed the earthquake on magnitude 6.7 but they did not release a tsunami warning.