Full story
Quake hits Flores
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday, killing at least 53 people and displacing around 5,000, as rescue teams continued searching for survivors on Flores Island.
“Around 5,000 people have been displaced by a powerful earthquake in Indonesia that has caused at least 53 fatalities.”
The BBC said the quake hit shortly before 05:00 local time on Saturday and that the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported more than 900 homes and hundreds of other buildings were severely damaged, along with 341 subsequent aftershocks.
In East Nusa Tenggara province, BNPB deputy Abdul Muhari confirmed 25 deaths in Manggarai and 20 fatalities in East Manggarai, while Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said 36 people were seriously injured and 77 suffered minor injuries.
The Al Jazeera report put the death toll at least 51 and said the earthquake struck at 5:58am local time, with its epicentre about 68km north-northwest of the city of Ende on Flores Island, and the US Geological Survey put the depth at 10km.
As tremors were felt as far west as Bima and Manggarai was among the most affected, the BBC said the ongoing advice from BNPB was for people to remain calm and stay away from coastal areas and structures showing signs of damage.
Evacuation and access
Rescue efforts were complicated by landslides and aftershocks, with Al Jazeera saying teams worked to clear roads blocked by landslides and reach survivors still trapped under rubble.
The BBC reported that a tsunami warning was initially issued, leading some 2,000 people to self-evacuate, but it was lifted around three hours after the initial jolt when no significant sea level rise was detected.
In Maumere, the Reuters account said residents camped outside collapsed homes under tarpaulin tents and that the disaster agency reported nearly a thousand aftershocks had been recorded since the quake.
Deputy regent Simon Subandi told KompasTV that “Almost all of Sikka’s residents didn’t dare stay indoors, so they slept on a porch or a tent outside,” as the BBC described a temporary medical tent assembled outside a hospital in Ruteng.
Reuters also quoted a mother, Lisda, 22, saying she chose to stay in a tent with her twin babies because she feared sleeping inside her home, while the BBC said images showed operating theatre and clinic ceilings caved in requiring patients to be treated in tents.
Aid, emergency, and stakes
As authorities assessed damage across Flores, the BBC said BNPB dispatched tonnes of emergency supplies to Manggarai and described meeting basic needs and providing logistics for evacuees as one of the top priorities of the emergency response.
“The East Nusa Tenggara government has declared an emergency for the province, BNPB said”
In a televised update, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said 36 people were seriously injured and 77 suffered minor injuries, while Al Jazeera reported 36 seriously injured and 77 minor injuries as well.
The Reuters report said the East Nusa Tenggara government declared an emergency for the province, a move that allows authorities to mobilise resources and funding, and it also said the BNPB head Lieutenant General Suharyanto told reporters the earthquake destroyed at least 157 houses and damaged nearly 200 more.
The BBC quoted hospital spokesperson Rista Mari saying, "We heard that medical assistance would be provided, but nothing has arrived yet," underscoring the immediate pressure on healthcare capacity in Manggarai where Ruteng Regional Hospital was among those damaged.
With access still disrupted in Nagekeo due to landslides and communications problems, Al Jazeera said rescue teams had yet to fully reach Nagekeo and that a team was attempting to reach the area by ferry.
