A shallow earthquake has shaken Indonesia’s Papua province, leaving four confirmed deaths and widespread destruction.

The temblor rated  as a 5.2-magnitude event, with the epicentre  one kilometre from Jayapura, the capital city of Papua province, at a depth of 10km, according to Indonesia’s geophysics agency (BMKG).

The four victims had been at a cafe when the quake brought down the building on top of them said Jayapura’s disaster agency head, Asep Khalid in a statement. The quake was felt strongly for two to three seconds, causing panic amongst residents, he added.

Unverified footage on social media showed a harbourside building had collapsed into the sea and light damage to a mall and hospital in the city.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded the earthquake at a magnitude of 5.5.

Thursday’s quake in Papua was one of more than one thousand recorded in the area since January this year, according to BMKG.

“Since January 2, 2023, there have been 1079 quakes around Jayapura, with about 132 felt by its residents,” said BMKG chief, Dwikorita Karnawati.

-with AAP