Indonesian authorities raised the death toll to 70 on Tuesday following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the island of Flores on Saturday, with more than 22,000 people displaced and awaiting aid in affected communities.
The earthquake's epicenter was located approximately 62 kilometers from Ende, one of Flores' principal cities. The initial tremor was followed by nearly 1,000 aftershocks, many of which were felt by residents across the island, according to local authorities.
The Local Disaster Management Agency, known as BPBD in Indonesian, reported that fatalities were distributed across multiple districts on Flores. Manggarai recorded 26 deaths, Manggarai Oriental 24, Nagekeo 8, Sikka 4, Ende 2, Manggarai Occidental 2, and Ngada 2. Additionally, 213 people were injured in the earthquake, with no missing persons reported among the rubble as of the latest update.
The 22,276 displaced persons are housed in a combination of public emergency shelters and private residences of family members and acquaintances, according to BPBD information chief Berton SP Panjaitan. Authorities continue to compile and verify data on evacuees as additional aid teams arrive in affected zones.
Humanitarian response teams operating in the disaster areas reported critical shortages of food, drinking water, stretchers, and medicines. Aid organizations remain deployed across the affected regions to address immediate needs.
The earthquake struck as Indonesia observed its 81st Independence Day on Monday. During the Independence Day ceremony in the capital Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto asked participants to pray for people affected by disasters in East Nusa Tenggara province and other parts of the country, while leading a nationwide moment of silence honoring the nation's independence heroes.
Many residents on Flores island in East Nusa Tenggara province spent Independence Day mourning victims and waiting for aid to reach communities still cut off by the earthquake. Hundreds of homes and other buildings sustained damage from the initial quake and subsequent aftershocks.
A subsequent 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck the Flores region on Monday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ.
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