Magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills at least 20 in eastern Indonesia, tsunami alert lifted

Earthquake strikes eastern Indonesia

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday, 15 August, at 05:58 local time (21:58 GMT on 14 August). The US Geological Survey (USGS) placed the epicenter 68 kilometers from the town of Ende, in East Nusa Tenggara province, north of Flores island, at a shallow depth. Several aftershocks followed the main shock, including one of magnitude 6.1. The vast Indonesian archipelago experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Rising death toll

Casualty figures climbed through the morning as rescue operations expanded. Berton Suar Pelita Panjaitan, a spokesperson for the disaster management agency, told reporters in Jakarta that two deaths had been reported initially, one man and one woman. A revised toll from rescue services later put the count at one dead and four injured, down from an initial two. The most recent figure came from Fathur Rahman, a search and rescue official in Maumere, who stated that 20 people had died, six were injured, and two remained buried under rubble.

Based on the information we have received, 20 people have died, six are injured, and two are still buried.

Damage and panic

Residents described scenes of chaos as the ground shook. Lukas Lotar, a patient management service head at a hospital, told AFP that patients fled the building and that walls had cracked from the force of the tremor.

Suddenly, it started to shake and I panicked. Patients also fled the hospital, the earthquake was strong. I saw that walls had cracked.

On Flores, an AFP correspondent saw residents of the village of Maumere leaving their homes. The sea was receding along the coast, a phenomenon that can precede a tsunami. Yohanes Babo, who was at a market when the tremor hit, told AFP that the shaking was strong and that people were panicking and running in all directions. AFP journalists on the ground observed entire sections of building facades that had collapsed on some homes.

Tsunami warning and evacuation

Authorities issued a tsunami warning for three provinces: East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi, forecasting waves of 0.5 to 3 meters. Abdul Muhari, an official at the national disaster management agency, urged coastal residents to move to higher ground immediately. Residents had been called to move away from the shore or reach elevated areas.

We urge the populations along the north coast of Flores and the southern zones, the southern islands, and the southern region to evacuate independently immediately.

Thousands of coastal residents evacuated before the tsunami alert was lifted. AFP journalists saw residents of northern Flores hurrying away from the coastline. Wijayanto, director of the earthquakes and tsunamis department at the national meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency, told a press conference that sea level monitoring would continue despite the lifted alert.

But we will continue to monitor the sea level.