7.7-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Indonesia, Triggering Tsunami and Killing at Least 5

A massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia just before 6 AM local time on Saturday, damaging buildings causing a tsunami. At least five people were killed, according to preliminary reports. The earthquake’s epicenter hit the seafloor around 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) northeast of Mbay in eastern Indonesia, the country’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said. Tsunami waves up to 0.94 meters tall were reported in several regions, according to the agency. Three aftershocks of magnitudes 5.6, 6.1 and 5 followed the initial quake, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. At least five people were killed, Melki Laka Lena, governor of the southeastern province of East Nusa Tenggara, said in a statement cited by the media. Videos circulating on social media, purportedly capturing the earthquake, show building facades crumbling as terrified people flee. Other footage shows buildings that had entirely collapsed. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of thousands of islands, sits at the meeting point of several major tectonic plates and lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active regions on Earth. The country has faced devastating earthquakes in recent decades, including a devastating 9.1 magnitude event in 2004, which killed more than 220,000 people in the broader region. Most recently, hundreds were killed by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Lombok in south-central Indonesia in 2018.