Indonesia magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills at least five people

Indonesia magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills at least five people

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia on Saturday, killing at least five people and collapsing buildings across the Flores region. The tremor hit at 4.58 a.m. Local time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), with an epicenter located 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende at a depth of 10 kilometres.

The quake caused widespread panic and structural failure across East Nusa Tenggara province. Rudi Darmoko, the East Nusa Tenggara police chief, reported preliminary fatalities including two people in Sikka Regency and three in Manggarai Regency. Indonesia's national disaster agency, BNPB, specifically noted that a man and a woman died at the Maumere port.

The intensity of the shaking affected millions. USGS estimates indicate that more than half a million people on Flores Island experienced very strong shaking, while several million more across the wider region felt moderate to strong tremors. Damage reports extended beyond Flores, with some parts of southern Sulawesi island and the city of Bima in neighboring West Nusa Tenggara province reporting impacts.

In Sikka Regency, resident Yohanna Embu reported that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere collapsed. At the St. Peter Major Seminary, also known as Ritapiret Seminary, students and nuns fled in panic as the roof of an assembly hall collapsed during morning Mass. The rector of the seminary, Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, stated that one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from a second-floor building to escape the quake.

Emergency responses were complicated by infrastructure failure. Police chief Rudi Darmoko said that power outages in villages and cities hampered the flow of information and complicated search and rescue operations. In local hospitals, footage showed staff evacuating patients and moving equipment, including oxygen cylinders, IV stands, and beds, outdoors to establish temporary treatment areas.

The initial 7.7-magnitude tremor—which was initially recorded at magnitude 6.9—was followed by several powerful aftershocks. These included quakes of magnitude 5.9 and 5.6 off the northern coast of Sikka, as well as a 6.1-magnitude quake north of Ende, according to the USGS.

Fear of a tsunami prompted immediate evacuations. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued an early warning, urging residents to stay away from riverbanks and beaches. In Nagekeo Regency on Flores island, approximately 2,000 residents carried out self-evacuations as a precaution. Australia's tsunami warning centre stated the event posed no threat to Australian territories, islands, or the mainland.

The tsunami warnings were later lifted after BMKG monitoring showed no significant changes in sea levels that would threaten coastal communities.

Members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and other emergency crews have been deployed to assess damage and conduct evacuations. Early social media reports indicated structural damage to various buildings, including a hotel in Ruteng. Indonesia's position on the Pacific Ring of Fire leaves its population of more than 270 million people across roughly 17,000 islands vulnerable to such seismic activity.

Authorities continue to collect reports on casualties and damages as communication disruptions persist.