Hundreds have been injured with hospitals having to treat many outside.

Herman Sherman is a local government official.

He said over 700 people are injured, but it was difficult to keep count.

Rescue efforts were underway with rescuers trying to reach survivors trapped under rubble.

Bart officials have warned that electricity is down in certain areas, disrupting communications efforts and that access to some areas have been blocked by landslides, hampering evacuation efforts.

In less than two hours after the quake hit, 25 aftershocks were recorded.

According to the weather and geophysics agency in Jakarta offices were evacuated with workers saying they felt the building shake.

Indonesia straddles the so called pacific ring of Fire, a highly seismic active zone, meaning it is prone to earthquakes.