At least 20 people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Flores Island in eastern Indonesia, triggering panic, landslides and mass evacuations.
Rescue teams were combing through collapsed buildings on Saturday as authorities assessed the full extent of the damage and searched for people trapped beneath the rubble.
Rescue official Fathur Rahman said at least 20 people had been confirmed dead across four towns, while six others were injured and two remained trapped under debris.
“From the reports we have received, 20 people have died, six are injured, and two are still buried,” Rahman said.
The Nagekeo regency, located closest to the earthquake’s epicentre, was reported to be the worst affected area. Rescue operations have been hampered by landslides that blocked several roads.
Two people were reportedly found alive beneath rubble in neighbouring Manggarai regency, while rescuers also recovered the body of another victim from a partially collapsed building at the port of Maumere.
Residents rushed to higher ground after the sea reportedly retreated from the coastline, raising fears of a possible tsunami. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) subsequently lifted the tsunami warning but advised residents to remain cautious.
Dozens of aftershocks have been recorded, with the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude.
A resident of Nagekeo, 56-year-old Yohanes Babo, said he was at a market when the earthquake struck in the early hours of Saturday.
“The shaking was strong. Thankfully, we were already outside the house,” he said, adding that residents panicked and began evacuating towards higher ground.
In Maumere, resident Lukas Lotar said patients fled a hospital after the earthquake, while some walls developed cracks.
The shallow earthquake’s epicentre was located just off Flores’ northern coast, about 68 kilometres northwest of the coastal town of Ende, according to US and Indonesian authorities.
Videos released by rescue officials showed emergency workers searching through debris and recovering victims as rescue efforts continued.
The earthquake has once again highlighted Indonesia’s vulnerability to major seismic disasters due to its location along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an area known for intense earthquake and volcanic activity.
Flores itself was struck by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992, which triggered a tsunami and killed around 2,500 people.
Indonesia was also among the countries worst affected by the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed about 220,000 people across the region, including approximately 170,000 in Indonesia.
In 2018, earthquakes in Lombok and Sumbawa killed more than 550 people, while a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Palu, Sulawesi, later that year left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
