Magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills at least 38 in eastern Indonesia

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday morning, killing at least 38 people and causing extensive structural damage across Flores Island. The tremor, recorded at 5:58 a.m. local time by the U.S. Geological Survey, originated 68 kilometers northwest of Ende at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers.

The quake triggered immediate evacuations along the coast after authorities issued a tsunami warning, directing residents to move to higher ground and maintain a distance of at least 2 kilometers from the shoreline. The warning was lifted after Indonesia's Agency of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics determined that sea level monitoring showed no significant changes posing a threat to coastal communities, though tsunami waves of 1.5 meters were recorded in several areas.

The death toll included two people with serious injuries and 11 with minor injuries, according to Suharyanto, head of Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Approximately 2,000 people were evacuated from affected areas. The U.S. Geological Survey noted that roughly 1.5 million people were exposed to strong to severe shaking.

Structural damage was widespread across the region. The disaster mitigation agency reported 54 homes in three regions suffered severe damage, nine sustained moderate damage, and eleven experienced minor damage. Six government offices, five health facilities, and one school were also damaged. Rescue teams reported finding two people still buried under rubble in the Maumere area, with efforts ongoing to locate additional missing persons.

Lukas Lotar, a 31-year-old hospital employee, described the moment of impact: "Suddenly everything started to shake and I panicked. The patients also fled; the tremor was strong. I saw that some walls had cracked."

Rescue operations faced significant obstacles as landslides blocked several roads in the region, particularly in Nagekeo, the area closest to the epicenter where communications were disrupted. The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency deployed teams to clear debris and search for survivors.

At least 235 aftershocks followed the initial quake, including one measuring magnitude 6.1. A separate magnitude 6.9 earthquake subsequently struck Sumatra Island. The U.S. Geological Survey warned that additional aftershocks with potentially strong shaking may follow.

The Flores region is prone to deadly seismic events. The earthquake comes four days after a 7.4-magnitude quake struck Colombia on August 10, killing 273 people.