Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores region early on Saturday, killing at least 38 people, injuring more than a dozen and causing buildings and homes to collapse. The strong tremor triggered panic across parts of eastern Indonesia, with residents running to higher ground after authorities issued a tsunami warning.
The warning was later lifted after Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that would threaten coastal communities. The initial quake was followed by several aftershocks, while rescue teams continued to assess damage and search for victims in badly hit areas.
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The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres at 5.58 am local time. Its epicentre was 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. Authorities said the worst damage was reported from the regencies of Sikka, Manggarai and East Manggarai.
National Disaster Management Agency chief Suharyanto said rescuers had recovered at least 38 bodies, including 16 pulled from a landslide in Reok village in Manggarai. At least 13 people were taken to nearby hospitals, including two with serious injuries. He said three helicopters and a rescue vessel had been deployed to support logistics and emergency operations, including possible evacuations, as East Nusa Tenggara’s many islands posed transport and access challenges. He also said around 2,000 villagers in Nagekeo regency had fled to temporary shelters.
East Nusa Tenggara Police chief Rudi Darmoko said the earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings, while power outages in towns and villages had disrupted the flow of information and made search and rescue work more difficult. “We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said. He added that earthquake-triggered landslides in Ende regency had also cut off the Trans-Flores highway, a roughly 700-kilometre paved mountain road running across Flores Island from Labuan Bajo to Larantuka.
Footage on local television showed patients at several hospitals being moved out of buildings as a precaution after the quake. Hospital staff took beds, IV stands and oxygen cylinders outside and set up temporary treatment areas to continue care under emergency conditions.
The quake was felt across much of Flores Island, with early reports pointing to heavy damage. Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka regency, said several buildings had been damaged and panicked residents had run to higher ground. “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 ran out in panic after the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, according to rector Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga. “Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof,” Tanga said. “At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake.”
The tremor also caused panic in Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park. Damage was also reported in Bima in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara province and in parts of southern Sulawesi. Authorities had initially issued a tsunami warning for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi, and told people to stay away from beaches and riverbanks.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. In 1992, a powerful earthquake caused a tsunami on Flores that killed about 2,500 people. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and localised tsunami in Palu killed more than 4,400 people. In 2010, a three-metre wave struck the Mentawai Islands after a major offshore quake, killing more than 400 people, while the 2004 magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
Saturday’s earthquake left dozens dead, injured residents, damaged infrastructure and disrupted transport and communications across parts of eastern Indonesia, even as the tsunami warning was later withdrawn and rescue efforts continued in the worst-affected areas.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
