JAKARTA, July 15 (CGTN) -- At least one person was killed and hundreds were evacuated after a major 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the remote Maluku islands in eastern Indonesia on Sunday, an official said.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers in an area 168 kilometers south-southeast of the city of Ternate, said the U.S. Geological Survey.

A woman in South Halmahera, the area near the epicenter, died due to the quake, according to the country’s disaster mitigation agency.

Local disaster mitigation agency official Ihksan Subur told reporter that Hundreds of people are still sheltering in several schools, government buildings and higher grounds.

The quake was reportedly not in danger of triggering a tsunami.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes, as it sits in the vulnerable quake zone known as the "the Pacific Ring of Fire."