According to US seismologists, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake on Thursday hit the eastern Indonesia island of Timor, forcing residents to run outside.

It struck at a depth of 36.1 kilometres (22.5 miles) on the west of Timor island near the city of Kupang.

According to AFP, the tremor was strongly felt in Kupang on the island split between Indonesian territory in the west and the sovereign state of East Timor in the east.

However, no casualties were reported.

Debris had fallen from buildings in the city and some residents were forced to evacuate their homes.

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Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

In November last year, a 5.6-magnitude quake hit the populous West Java province on the country's main island of Java, killing 602 people.