7.7-magnitude quake strikes Indonesia, kills five

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, collapsing buildings and homes, killing at least five people and triggering panic across the earthquake-prone region.

Authorities initially issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground. The warning was later lifted after Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency reported no significant sea-level changes posing a threat to coastal communities.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck the Flores region at a depth of 10 kilometres at 5:58 a.m. local time. Its epicentre was 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. Several aftershocks followed.

East Nusa Tenggara police chief Rudi Darmoko said preliminary reports indicated two deaths in Sikka Regency and three in Manggarai Regency. The earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings, while power outages disrupted communications and hampered rescue efforts.

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

Footage on local television showed patients being evacuated from several hospitals as a precaution. Medical staff moved beds, IV stands and oxygen cylinders outdoors and set up temporary treatment areas.

Quake felt across Flores

The earthquake was felt across much of Flores island, with initial reports indicating heavy damage.

Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka Regency, said several buildings were damaged and residents fled in panic 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 fled after the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, said the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, also known locally as Ritapiret Seminary.

“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.”

The quake also caused panic in Bima, in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara province, while damage was reported in parts of southern Sulawesi.

Indonesia prone to earthquakes

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is highly prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines.

Flores has previously suffered devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. A powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami in 1992 killed about 2,500 people on the island.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami and widespread destruction in eastern Indonesia, while soil liquefaction devastated neighbourhoods in Palu. More than 4,400 people died.

A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in December 2004 triggered a massive tsunami that killed about 230,000 people across a dozen countries.