An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale jolted Padang and several neighboring towns in West Sumatra at 3:51 p.m. on Thursday.

The quake caused panic among residents at the affected areas, the local Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.

It said the quake was recorded around 10 kilometers (km) under the sea off Bungus Teluk Kabung district in Padang.

Earlier in the day, a 5.9 earthquake rocked several parts of North Sulawesi. There were no immediate reports of casualties or material damage.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located at a depth of 23 km below sea level, 107 km southeast of Bitung, which lies 50 km to the east of North Sulawesi's capital Manado, state news agency Antara reported.

BMKG officials both in Manado and Padang said the two quakes did not have the potential to cause a tsunami.

Manado's BMKG spokesman Mudjianto said its magnitude was felt by people in Bitung, Minahasa, Minahasa Selatan, Manado as well as on the islands of Sangihe and Talaud.