Indonesia earthquake kills five people after 7.7 magnitude tremor strikes Flores
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia, killing five people and prompting temporary tsunami warnings.
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia on Saturday, according to the Independent, killing five people and prompting coastal evacuations before tsunami warnings were eventually lifted.
The tremor struck on Saturday at 4:58 am local time, according to reporting by the Express, while CBS News noted the time as 5:58 am local time. The United States Geological Survey placed the epicenter roughly 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres, although Indonesia's geophysics agency BMKG estimated the depth at around 15 kilometres. The initial mainshock was followed by several strong aftershocks, including tremors measuring 5.9 and 5.6 magnitude off the northern coast of Sikka, as detailed by the Express, alongside additional aftershocks noted by Yahoo News Canada.
Media additions
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena told reporters that the five victims were killed by collapsing rubble as they slept, as reported by the Express. East Nusa Tenggara police chief Rudi Darmoko specified that preliminary reports showed two fatalities in Sikka Regency and three in Manggarai Regency, CBS News reported. Chief Darmoko added that power outages in cities and villages severely hampered the flow of information and complicated search and rescue operations.
"We are continuing to collect reports of damages and casualties, but there are communication disruptions."
Rudi Darmoko, East Nusa Tenggara police chief, via CBS News
The violent shaking caused widespread structural damage. Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka regency, described severe impacts to local infrastructure to CBS News and the Independent.
"Many buildings here were damaged ... I saw that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere had collapsed."
Yohanna Embu, Sikka resident, via CBS News and the Independent
At St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, also known as Ritapiret Seminary on Flores, students attending morning Mass fled in panic when an assembly hall roof collapsed. The rector, Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, stated that students and nuns ran out beneath the falling roof, and at least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the tremor, CBS News reported. Local television footage broadcast by Kompas TV showed hospital patients being evacuated outdoors in Ende, with staff setting up temporary treatment areas using beds, IV stands, and oxygen cylinders, as noted by CBS News and the Independent.
The earthquake immediately triggered fears of a tsunami, prompting BMKG to issue warnings for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi, Newsx reported. Abdul Muhari, an official at the national disaster agency BNPB, urged communities along the northern and southern coasts of Flores and surrounding islands to carry out self-evacuations, advising residents to move more than two kilometres inland or into hilly areas more than 10 metres high, NewsX reported. Yahoo News Canada noted that approximately 2,000 residents in Nagekeo Regency undertook self-evacuations. Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre were recorded in some locations, according to NewsX. However, Australia's tsunami warning centre confirmed there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands, or territories, the Express reported. BMKG subsequently lifted the tsunami warning after monitoring showed no dangerous changes in sea levels threatening coastal communities, the Independent reported, though officials urged residents to continue avoiding beaches and riverbanks, the Express reported.
The disaster highlights the ongoing vulnerability of Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands with a population exceeding 270 million, located directly on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where multiple tectonic plates meet, the Express reported and the Independent noted. The region carries a destructive seismic history; the Independent recalled that in December 1992, a powerful earthquake generated a tsunami that killed approximately 2,500 people on Flores Island.
Impact and Response Overview
- Casualties: Five deaths confirmed across Sikka and Manggarai regencies, with four others injured, according to national disaster management statements.
- Infrastructure Damage: Collapsed buildings include a port waiting room in Maumere, a seminary roof in Sikka, a hotel in Ruteng, and damage across Nagekeo and Bima, reported the Express and CBS News.
- Emergency Measures: Hospitals evacuated patients outdoors into temporary treatment zones; approximately 2,000 residents in Nagekeo self-evacuated, noted Yahoo News Canada.
- Tsunami Status: Initial warnings issued by BMKG covering multiple provinces were lifted after monitoring showed no significant sea-level threat, reported CBS News.
Authorities continue to assess the full scale of the disaster, with emergency teams and the Indonesian National Armed Forces working to clear debris and reach areas cut off by communication disruptions, reported Yahoo News Canada. Officials have warned that the death toll may climb as rescue operations progress into affected remote regencies, the Express reported.
