Jakarta (Rajeev Sharma): A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia’s Flores region early Saturday, leaving at least 38 people dead, injuring dozens of others, and triggering widespread panic across coastal communities. The shallow undersea tremor prompted an initial tsunami warning across several island provinces that was later withdrawn after marine monitoring confirmed that no destructive waves threatened the coastline.
The seismic event struck East Nusa Tenggara province with its epicentre situated roughly 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende city. The intense tremors caused severe structural damage, flattening residential buildings and forcing emergency evacuations across regional healthcare facilities, where medical staff moved patients and essential clinical equipment outdoors into open areas to establish temporary treatment zones.
In addition to building collapses, the earthquake triggered massive landslides that severed critical sections of the 700-kilometre Trans-Flores Highway, cutting off key overland transit routes across Flores Island and complicating access for first responders. Extensive power outages and communication breakdowns further hampered search and rescue operations in remote districts.
National disaster management authorities deployed helicopters and maritime rescue vessels to deliver emergency relief supplies and support logistics across the archipelago. Meanwhile, approximately 2,000 displaced residents have sought shelter in temporary evacuation centres as emergency rescue teams continue scouring affected villages amid recurring aftershocks.
