Rescue teams in Indonesia have been searching for survivors of Saturday’s major earthquake, which left at least 47 people dead.
The magnitude 7.7 quake struck the island of Flores shortly before 05:00 local time (22:00 GMT Friday), at a depth of 15km, according to Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency. Preliminary reports indicate hundreds of buildings were severely damaged by the quake and the dozens of aftershocks that followed, though the full scale of the disaster remains unclear. A second earthquake, magnitude 6.9, struck at the other end of Indonesia shortly after, a reminder of why the region is known as the Ring of Fire.
Tremors from Saturday’s quake were reportedly felt as far west as Bima Regency and City, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), though Manggarai province appears among the hardest hit. Preliminary data recorded 24 fatalities there, with 17 deaths in East Manggarai province, three in Sikka province, and at least one each in Ngada, Ende, and West Manggarai provinces. At least two people were seriously injured and 11 sustained minor injuries. The BNPB said aid was already being dispatched to affected areas, with 10,500 packages having arrived at base operations so far. Assessing the full extent of the destruction will take time, officials say, given the region’s remote and mountainous terrain.
Early reports indicate more than 150 houses were severely damaged, along with dozens of educational institutions, several healthcare facilities, places of worship, offices, and other public buildings. Video filmed at the port in Maumere, the largest town on Flores, showed large chunks of concrete breaking off the terminal building onto passengers waiting to board an inter-island ferry, with some people thrown into the sea after a ship’s gangway collapsed.
Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, said some victims were killed in their sleep by collapsing rubble. Others, like Arnold Welianto, who lives in Talibura, a coastal village in Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara, were jolted awake by the tremor. “I was startled awake and immediately went to my child’s room,” he said, adding that many residents had already fled to higher ground after noticing the sea recede.
A tsunami warning was initially issued, prompting roughly 2,000 people to self-evacuate, but was lifted around three hours after the initial quake once no significant sea-level rise was detected. Landslides blocked access to some villages, though rescue teams worked through the day to free those trapped under rubble. In Ruteng, a temporary medical tent was set up outside a hospital to treat earthquake victims.
The BNPB has continued advising residents to remain calm, stay away from coastal areas, and avoid structures showing signs of damage. Indonesia sits along the meeting point of three major tectonic plates, making it especially prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
