A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Northern Molucca Sea off the coast of Ternate, Indonesia, the United States Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami warning for neighbouring countries.

The quake was at a depth of 10 km, the USGS added.

The US Tsunami Warning System said hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 1,000 km of the epicentre along the coasts of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The epicentre of the quake was about 120 km from the city of Ternate, in Indonesia's North Maluku province, which has a population of over 205,000, according to USGS.