Indonesia was hit on Saturday 15 August by two violent earthquakes: the first was of magnitude 7.7 and hit the island of Flores, and was followed by numerous aftershocks throughout the day. And the provisional death toll is worsening: there are at least 53 dead and 135 injured, although it is feared they could increase: in fact, there are many missing people. A few hours later, another earthquake of magnitude 6.9 was felt on the island of Sumatra, with the epicenter located 126 kilometers south-east of the capital Medan. The Farnesina has announced that there are approximately 6,000 non-resident Italian citizens currently present in Indonesia, of which approximately 700 are on the island of Flores. At the moment there are no victims or injuries among the compatriots. Meanwhile, the first aid has begun to arrive for the thousands of displaced people on the island.
The Bolognese tourists blocked by the earthquake left the island of Flores
The thirteen tourists from Bologna who were stranded on the Indonesian island of Flores managed to leave the island, although not yet to return home. In the late morning, Italian time, they boarded a flight to Bali, where the situation was calmer. From Denpansar airport in Bali, they should be able to find another flight to Italy with less difficulty, even if the times are not yet clear. The group of Bolognese people were on a boat in the Komodo archipelago at the time of the first tremor. Due to the tsunami warning they had been transferred to the nearest village, to then be transported to higher areas and finally to a hotel in Labuan Bajo, recommended by the Italian embassy in Jakarta with which they have been in constant contact in the last few hours. "Our hotel suffered some cracks, but nothing serious, it's quite safe", said one of the tourists a few hours before leaving the island of Flores.
What's happening in Indonesia
Over 5,000 people were forced to leave their homes and over 900 homes were seriously damaged. The damage also extends to other structures and among the buildings hit by the earthquake there is also the regional hospital of Ruteng, where - reports AFP - the patients were evacuated and moved to some tents near the structure. “We need food, drinks, medicines and diapers for the children,” a local told the French news agency. Immediately after the earthquake, the Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning and thousands of people moved away from the coasts. The alert was lifted a few hours later, but local civil protection warned to stay away from coastal areas and buildings showing signs of damage. After the most violent tremor, hundreds of others of varying intensity were recorded, including one of magnitude 6.9 again on Saturday but in another area of Indonesia, further west: the island of Sumatra. Indonesia is located in a highly seismic area full of active volcanoes: the so-called "Ring of Fire" which from the western areas of the Americas to the eastern areas of Asia and Oceania winds like an arc crossing the globe for tens of thousands of kilometers. Four years ago, hundreds of people were killed in an earthquake in the western part of the island of Java, while at least 4,000 people lost their lives in 2018 due to the earthquake and tsunami that engulfed part of the island of Sulawesi. On the island of Flores - hit by Saturday's earthquake - an earthquake followed by a tsunami is estimated to have killed 2,500 people in 1992. The most terrible tragedy, however, is probably that caused by the earthquake with its epicenter off the island of Sumatra and the subsequent tsunami which in 2004 killed 220,000 people, of which 170,000 in Indonesia alone.
