The quake measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and caused several buildings to collapse in the coastal city of Palu, just 16km from the epicentre, when it struck shortly before dawn, seismology officials said.

As a succession of smaller aftershocks rattled the city, residents poured from their homes and ran for higher ground.

"We were afraid there will be a tsunami," said Iqbal, a hotel employee in Palu, who reported that thousands of people took to higher ground. The state Antara news agency said many people refused to return to their homes.

"We are scared to go home because there are still aftershocks. What's more, I heard there will be a tsunami like in Aceh," another resident was quoted as saying by Antara.

According to Antara, a 75-year-old man died as his house collapsed in Palu, the provincial capital of Central Sulawesi, and four people were badly hurt.

Meteorological and geophysics agency official Sutiono said eight shops were damaged but there was no danger of tsunami since the quake had been inland.

Though powerful enough to cause significant damage, a 6.2-magnitude quake is not large enough to create dangerous waves.

Sulawesi was untouched by the December 26 earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale which struck off Sumatra island, more than 2,500 kilometres away, pushing tsunamis onto shorelines around the Indian Ocean.

But most Indonesians are fearful of a repeat of the disaster that killed 174,000 people in Sumatra and more than 50,000 others across the region.