A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has rattled the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua, the US Geological Survey says, causing nervous residents to panic about a week after a tsunami killed hundreds further west in the archipelago.

Indonesian authorities said it was “felt quite strongly for several seconds” on Friday..

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The region in Papua, which makes up half the island known as New Guinea, is sparsely populated.

The epicentre of the quake was on land near the city of Manokwari at a depth of 55km.

The Indonesian meteorological agency said it did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

-AAP