7.7-magnitude quake kills 47 in Indonesia

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early on Saturday, killing at least 47 people, collapsing buildings and causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes. Authorities said dozens of residents were injured.

Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s meteorological agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that would pose a threat to coastal communities.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region with a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles) at 5:58 am local time. Its epicentre was 68 km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.  The quake triggered landslides and generated a small tsunami.

The meteorological agency said the quake was followed by 235 aftershocks by Saturday afternoon, with the largest up to magnitude 6.2.