The tremor hit at 6:41am (2141 GMT Monday), almost 250 kilometres (150 miles) west of the provincial capital Jayapura at a depth of 52 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
"The quake was felt very strongly for four seconds," said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. "Residents panicked and rushed out of their homes."
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