At least 44 people have been killed in an earthquake that rattled Indonesia's main island Java on Monday, a local spokesperson told AFP.

"There have been dozens of people killed. Hundreds, even maybe thousands of houses are damaged. So far, 44 people have died," Adam, spokesman for the local administration in Cianjur town in West Java, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.

The epicentre was located near the West Java town of Cianjur about 100 kilometres south of the capital, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), AFP reports.

Authorities said they had rescued two people trapped in a landslide in Cianjur but a third person had died.

"We managed to evacuate a woman and a baby alive, but the other one passed away. That's the only thing I can share for now," Cianjur police chief Doni Hermawan told broadcaster Metro TV.

Other broadcasters showed several buildings in Cianjur with their roofs collapsed.

The country's meteorological agency warned residents near the quake to watch out for more tremors.

"We call on people to stay outside the buildings for now as there might be potential aftershocks," the head of Indonesia's meteorological agency, Dwikorita Karnawati, told reporters.

The USGS had earlier reported the quake's magnitude as 5.4.

Mayadita Waluyo, a 22-year-old lawyer, described how panicked workers ran for the exits of their building in Jakarta as the quake struck.

"I was working when the floor under me was shaking. I could feel the tremor clearly. I tried to do nothing to process what it was but it became even stronger and lasted for some time," she said.

"I feel a bit dizzy now and my legs are also a bit cramped because I had to walk downstairs from the 14th floor."

Hundreds were waiting outdoors after the quake including some in hard hats to protect from falling debris, an AFP reporter there said.

Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide.

A 6.2-magnitude quake that shook Sulawesi island in January last year killed more than 100 people and left thousands homeless.