A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia's Flores Island early Saturday. The death toll from the earthquake and several strong aftershocks has risen to 20, according to AFP News Agency. The earthquake damaged buildings and homes and also triggered several aftershocks and a brief tsunami warning, which was later withdrawn.
The earthquake struck at around 5:58 am local time at a depth of about 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had initially recorded the quake at 4:58 am GMT+7 at a depth of 15 kilometres.
BMKG had also warned of the possibility of tsunami waves following the quake and urged people to get to higher ground. "We strongly urge our communities along the northern coast of Flores and in the southern parts, on the southern islands and across the southern region, to carry out self-evacuation immediately," Abdul Muhari, an official at the national disaster agency, BNPB, to local broadcaster Kompas TV. Residents should "move away from the shore, either by going more than two kilometres inland or by moving up into hilly areas more than 10 metres high", he added. The warning was withdrawn several hours later.
Videos and photos circulating on social media showed the impact of the earthquake, with buildings collapsing and residents fleeing in panic. In one such video shared by RT news on X, showed part of a building collapsing amid dust and rubble as people screamed and ran through the streets.
Meanwhile, in another video, one can see parts of a building collapsing near the sea side, while the car parked near the road and the huger towers are seen moving due to aftershocks.
The tremors were also felt strongly for around a minute in areas including Nagekeo and Bima, according to media reports. Authorities continued to monitor the situation and assess the damage caused by the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
The island nation last experienced a massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake in 2018, which triggered a large, localised tsunami that devastated coastal areas in the eastern Indonesian city of Palu along the Palu-Koro Fault. The disaster killed more than 4,400 people.
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