Another powerful quake strikes as magnitude 7.7 jolt rocks Indonesia
At least 38 people were killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores island early Saturday, damaging buildings and sending thousands fleeing to higher ground amid fears of a tsunami.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said the death toll continued to rise as search and rescue teams combed through affected communities in East Nusa Tenggara province. Several people were also injured.
The earthquake struck shortly before 5 a.m. local time at a depth of about 15 kilometres, according to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
Three strong aftershocks followed within half an hour, measuring magnitudes 5.9, 5.6 and 6.1.
Around the port town of Maumere, rescuers recovered 20 bodies and found six people injured, while two remained trapped under rubble, Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency, told Reuters.
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Authorities had yet to reach Nagekeo regency, the area closest to the epicentre, as disrupted communications and outages complicated efforts to determine the full extent of the destruction.
At Maumere port, video showed chunks of concrete falling from a terminal building as passengers waited to board an inter-island ferry. Some people were thrown into the sea when a gangway collapsed.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said some victims were killed in their sleep by collapsing rubble.
BMKG issued a tsunami warning for affected coastlines, prompting residents to move inland and seek higher ground. The warning was lifted about three hours later after no significant rise in sea level was detected.
BNPB said around 2,000 people had evacuated or relocated on their own. Many residents remained outdoors as repeated aftershocks left them afraid to return home.
One earthquake after another
Saturday’s earthquake follows a series of powerful tremors recorded around the world over the past two months.
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Colombia on 10 August, while a magnitude 6.8 tremor hit Japan’s Kyushu region on 28 July, according to data from the British Geological Survey.
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Mexico’s Chiapas region was struck by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on 17 July, while Venezuela recorded two major tremors, measuring magnitudes 7.5 and 7.2, on 24 June.
Indonesia itself recorded a magnitude 6.7 earthquake in Sulawesi on 16 June.
The archipelago sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a belt of intense seismic and volcanic activity, making it one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
