Magnitude 7.7 quake hits Indonesia, killing at least 47
The death toll is expected to climb further as emergency teams continue search and rescue efforts.
A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake has killed at least 47 people after it struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores Island, causing widespread damage.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck early Saturday at 5:58am local time (21:58 GMT Friday), with the epicentre about 68 kilometres (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende, in East Nusa Tenggara province. USGS put the depth at 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).
More than 230 aftershocks occurred on the island throughout the day, the strongest measuring at magnitude 6.2.
Later on Saturday, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake also struck Indonesia’s western Sumatra island, thousands of kilometres away, according to USGS. No casualties or damage have been recorded due to the quake’s immense depth of 172.5km (107 miles).
Thousands flee homes
Lieutenant General Suharyanto, head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency, said the tremor destroyed at least 157 houses and damaged nearly 200 others, forcing about 2,000 villagers in Nagekeo regency to flee their homes to temporary shelters. Nagekeo is the area closest to the Flores quake’s epicentre.
East Nusa Tenggara police chief Rudi Darmoko said the disaster caused severe damage and collapsed buildings.
“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family,” Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara, told the Reuters news agency. “There were 13 of us inside the house, and we all ran to save ourselves.”
Suharyanto said three helicopters and a rescue vessel had been deployed to assist with logistics and support emergency response operations, including possible evacuations if needed. East Nusa Tenggara’s geography consists of numerous islands and presents significant transportation and access challenges.
Teams have yet to reach Nagekeo regency, where the quake caused landslides, which have blocked roads, and disrupted communication signals, said Fathur Rahman, head of the local search and rescue agency in the port town of Maumere on Flores Island. A team is attempting to reach the area by ferry, he added.
Officials fear the death toll will climb further as emergency teams continue working.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami warning for affected coastlines, urging residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks and move to higher ground. The warning has since been lifted.
Extent of damage still ’emerging’
USGS estimates that more than half a million people on Flores Island, in eastern Indonesia, are likely to have experienced very strong shaking, with moderate to strong shaking felt by several million more people across the wider region.
Local authorities said they were continuing to monitor the situation and assess the risk of further aftershocks in the hours ahead.
Reporting from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington said that the aftershocks could persist for “several days”, according to local weather agencies.
In northern parts of the island, residents have been ordered to evacuate, as the extent of the damage is still “emerging”, said Washington. “Many houses have been damaged.”
Washington added that local authorities are unable to reach several affected areas, which remain “locked” for first responders and assistance. Authorities have also advised locals to stay away from the shores and buildings, she said.
Indonesia, a nation of more than 270 million people spread across roughly 17,000 islands, sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is one of the world’s most seismically active countries.
The same stretch of coastline was struck by a similarly powerful earthquake in December 1992, when the quake and the tsunami it triggered killed more than 2,500 people on Flores.
