Moderate quake rattles Indonesia's Nias island

A moderate earthquake rattled the Indonesian island of Nias and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

A moderate earthquake rattled the Indonesian island of Nias early on Wednesday, a meteorological official said.

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There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicentre of the 5.4-magnitude quake was located 18 kilometres (11 miles) beneath the ocean floor, and about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southeast of Nias' capital Gunungsitoli, said Budi Waluyo of the agency.

It struck at 7.46 am, but there was no indication it sparked panic on Nias, which was hit by a 8.7-magnitude quake in March that killed about 900 people in the area.

Nias is just west of Sumatra island, which has experienced hundreds of earthquakes since a massive tsunami-producing tremor off its coast on December 26, 2004 killed or left missing more than 216,000 people in a dozen countries.

Experts say the fault line that runs along the western coast of Sumatra is unstable and may produce another major temblor soon.