A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores region early Saturday, killing at least five people, collapsing buildings and homes and triggering panic across the earthquake-prone area. Several aftershocks followed the powerful tremor, with authorities reporting heavy damage in parts of Flores and neighbouring regions.

A tsunami warning was initially issued for several provinces, prompting coastal residents to move to higher ground. The warning was later withdrawn after Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that posed a threat to coastal communities.

Earthquake Kills Five In East Nusa Tenggara

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres at 5.58 am local time. Its epicentre was located 68 km north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The initial tremor was followed by several aftershocks, while reports from Flores and surrounding areas indicated extensive damage to homes and other structures.

East Nusa Tenggara police chief Rudi Darmoko said preliminary reports indicated two deaths in Sikka Regency and three in Manggarai Regency after buildings collapsed.

Darmoko said power outages across towns and villages had disrupted communication, slowing the flow of information and complicating search and rescue operations.

“We are continuing to collect reports of damages and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said.

Hospitals Evacuate Patients As Buildings Collapse

Footage broadcast by local television showed patients being evacuated from several hospitals as a precaution following the earthquake.

Medical staff moved beds, intravenous stands and oxygen cylinders outdoors and established temporary treatment areas to continue providing care under emergency conditions.

The earthquake was felt across much of Flores, with residents reporting damaged buildings and widespread panic.

Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka Regency, said frightened residents fled towards higher ground after the tremors. “Many buildings here were damaged … I saw that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere had collapsed,” she said.

At St Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, students attending morning Mass fled after the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, according to Rev Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, known locally as Ritapiret Seminary.

“Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof,” Tanga said. He added that at least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the earthquake.

Panic was also reported in Bima in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara province, while damage was reported in parts of southern Sulawesi island.

Tsunami Warning Withdrawn After Sea-Level Monitoring

Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces.

Residents were urged to stay away from beaches and riverbanks, while people living along the coast were advised to move to higher ground as authorities monitored the possibility of tsunami waves.

The warning was subsequently withdrawn after Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency reported no significant sea-level changes that could threaten coastal communities.

Indonesia Remains Vulnerable To Major Earthquakes

Indonesia is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies along the Pacific Basin’s Ring of Fire, an area characterised by intense seismic and volcanic activity.

Flores has experienced devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in the past. A powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami in the region in 1992, killing about 2,500 people.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and localised tsunami struck Palu, killing more than 4,400 people. A major offshore earthquake in 2010 generated a three-metre wave that hit the Mentawai Islands and killed more than 400 people.

The December 2004 magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a catastrophic tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries.

Saturday’s earthquake again brought deaths, structural damage, evacuations and widespread fear to a country that remains exposed to major seismic disasters.

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