By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia

A strong earthquake shook parts of eastern Indonesia on Thursday, causing some residents to run from their homes in panic.

The United States Geological Survey reported the magnitude 6.2 quake as striking 68 kilometers (42 miles) south of the coastal city of Bima, West Nusa Tenggara province, at a depth of 72 km.

National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said tremors were felt in Bima as well as the resort island of Bali.

"The earthquake did not trigger a tsunami,” he said in a statement. “People panicked and ran out of houses, but there is no damage reported until now."

Nugroho added that officers and volunteers had been dealing with a post-flood emergency in Bima -- where at least 8,000 people were displaced due to Dec. 22-23 flash floods -- when they felt the shaking.

“Patients were evacuated from the [hospital] building," he said.

On Dec. 7, a magnitude 6.5 temblor rocked the north of Sumatra island, leaving 104 people dead and tens of thousands displaced in Aceh province.

Indonesia lies within the Pacific’s "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sumatra, causing a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people as it tore along the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.