Rescue teams in Indonesia are actively searching for survivors following Saturday’s major earthquake that claimed at least 47 lives. The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the island of Flores just before 05:00 local time (22:00 GMT on Friday), with a depth of 15 kilometers, according to Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency.
Initial reports suggest hundreds of buildings have been severely damaged due to the quake and subsequent aftershocks. The complete impact remains uncertain, and a secondary 6.9 magnitude quake at the opposite end of Indonesia underscores the region’s reputation as part of the ring of fire.
Tremors from the powerful quake were felt as far west as Bima Regency and City, reported the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), with Manggarai province among the hardest hit. Preliminary data shows 24 fatalities there, 17 in East Manggarai province, three in Sikka province, and at least one in each of Ngada, Ende, and West Manggarai provinces. Additionally, at least two individuals sustained serious injuries, and 11 others were slightly injured.
The BNPB confirmed that aid is being dispatched to affected regions, with 10,500 packages already reaching base operations.
Assessing the full extent of damage in this remote and mountainous region will take time. Initial reports indicate over 150 houses and several educational institutions, healthcare facilities, places of worship, offices, and other public facilities sustained severe damage.
Video footage from Maumere’s port—Flores’ largest town—showed large concrete sections breaking off from a terminal building onto passengers waiting for an inter-island ferry. Some individuals were thrown into the sea when a ship’s gangway collapsed.
Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, noted in a news conference that some victims were killed in their sleep by collapsing debris. Others, such as Arnold Welianto from Talibura—a village near Sikka’s coast—were jolted awake.
Welianto recounted being startled awake and rushing to his child’s room. He mentioned to the BBC that many residents had fled to higher ground as the sea had receded.
BBC
