This is the dramatic moment terrified patients evacuated a hospital as a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit Indonesia.

Families and nurses rushed out of the building as the quake jolted Siriwini Hospital in Nabire, Central Papua, early this morning.

Footage shows patients, some still in hospital beds, staying outside the building with their relatives after the tremor shook the inpatient ward and emergency department.

A resident named Titinepai said: 'This earthquake is causing panic. All the patients at Siriwini Hospital in Nabire have already evacuated outside.'

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) said the magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck at 3:19 am local time. Centred on land, it was recorded 12 km southwest of Nabire with a depth of 24 km.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or infrastructure damage. No tsunami alarms were raised.

Indonesia frequently experiences earthquakes because it sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where the majority of Earth's volcanic eruptions and earthquakes happen.