A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck Indonesia, killing at least 20 people.
The epicenter of the earthquake was near the island of Flores, serious damage and landslides were recorded
Quick Look
In Indonesia, an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred near the island of Flores, which killed at least 20 people, destroyed buildings and roads, and about 2 thousand residents were evacuated.
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Why It Matters
Indonesia is located in the seismically active zone of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where destructive earthquakes often occur.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 occurred in Indonesia near the island of Flores. At least 20 people were killed and many buildings were destroyed.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred at 5:58 a.m. local time. Its epicenter was 68 km northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The first shock was followed by several aftershocks.
Rescuers recovered the bodies of at least 20 dead, eight of them in the village of Reok in Manggarai district, where the earthquake led to a landslide. Two villagers are missing. Six people were hospitalized with serious injuries. About 2 thousand local residents were evacuated to temporary shelters.
The earthquake caused widespread damage and power outages, hampering the dissemination of information and search and rescue efforts, East Nusa Tenggara provincial police chief Rudi Darmoko said. Due to landslides, the Transflores Highway, a mountain road about 700 km that passes through the island of Flores, had to be closed.
“We continue to collect information about damage and casualties, but are experiencing communication problems,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying.
Authorities also issued a tsunami warning and called on coastal residents to evacuate, but soon canceled it after meteorologists saw no significant change in sea levels.
“I saw that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere (the island's largest city - BBC) was destroyed,” Johanna Embu, a resident of Sikka district, told the AP.
Video from the port showed huge chunks of concrete falling on people waiting for the ferry. Several people were stranded in the water when the dock leading to the ship collapsed.
“I have never felt such a powerful earthquake,” a resident of the town of Ruteng (Manggarai district, about 100 km west of the epicenter) told AFP.
Arnold Velianto, from Talibura village in Sikka district, told the BBC he was awakened by "very strong shaking". Many local residents have already left their homes and headed to higher ground. According to him, because of the danger of a tsunami, people panicked.
Earthquakes are a common occurrence in Indonesia.
In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra led to a tsunami that killed about 220 thousand people.
In 2018, the Lombok earthquake killed more than 550 people. Later that year, more than 4.3 thousand people became victims of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami off the island of Sulawesi.
There was a powerful earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Flores in 1992, when 2.5 thousand people died.
About 1.8 million people live on the island of Flores. On it, near the city of Labuan Bajo, is the Komodo National Park, where Komodo dragons live.
The Association of Tour Operators of Russia stated that there were no organized tourists from Russia on the island at the time of the earthquake.
Open Questions
- What is the exact extent of destruction in remote areas?
- Will the missing be found alive?
