Indonesia lifts tsunami alert after East Timor quake

Indonesia's meteorology agency lifted a tsunami alert issued after a quake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck off shore East Timor,with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicentre of the quake was 299 km northeast of East Timor's capital, Dili, but city residents said they did not feel the tremors or receive a tsunami alert from local authorities.

"We have lifted the warning, but we will continue to monitor information from the area," said Fauzi, head of the earthquake centre at the Indonesian meteorology office. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake at 6.2 magnitude and at a depth of 10 km (6 miles).

"I didn't feel anything," said Reuters photographer Lirio da Fonseca, a Dili resident.

Fauzi said his office gave East Timor equipment last year to receive quake alerts. "I hope they are using it so they can receive tsunami alerts."

Like Indonesia, East Timor too lies in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", a seismologically active region where several tectonic plates meet.