A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit Indonesia’s eastern province of Maluku has killed at least 20 people, damaged buildings and sent people fleeing to the hills, officials and witnesses said. Disaster officials said the early morning quake, initially measured at a magnitude of 6.8, woke residents of towns such as provincial capital Ambon, about 40 km (25 miles) from the epicenter, but the geophysics agency ruled out a tsunami.

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit Indonesia’s eastern province of Maluku has killed at least 20 people, damaged buildings and sent people fleeing to the hills, officials and witnesses said. Disaster officials said the early morning quake, initially measured at a magnitude of 6.8, woke residents of towns such as provincial capital Ambon, about 40 km (25 miles) from the epicenter, but the geophysics agency ruled out a tsunami.