A strong magnitude 7.7 earthquake rattled the coast of Indonesia in the early hours of Saturday, causing structural damage and prompting a tsunami alert. Officials advised residents in the affected areas to relocate to higher ground for safety.
According to the U.S Geological Survey, the earthquake struck the Flores region of Indonesia at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers at 5:58 a.m. local time, with its epicenter situated 68 kilometers north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. Following the initial tremor, several aftershocks were felt, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The Indonesia Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning for portions of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi provinces, advising residents to steer clear of beaches and riverbanks. The agency pinpointed the undersea quake near Flores island.
Residents living along the coastlines were cautioned to move to higher ground as authorities monitored coastal tide gauges for any fluctuations. The earthquake was felt across Flores island, resulting in damage to homes and public infrastructure, although official assessments of the extent of the destruction or any casualties were not yet available.
Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka in East Nusa Tenggara province, reported that numerous buildings were impacted by the intense shaking, prompting people to flee to safer areas. She mentioned witnessing the collapse of the waiting room at the Maumere port terminal.
At St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, where students were attending morning Mass, panic ensued when the assembly hall roof collapsed. Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, the seminary’s rector, recounted how students and nuns rushed out as the roof caved in, with one priest sustaining a broken leg while leaping from a building during the quake.
Indonesia, an expansive archipelago with over 17,000 islands, is susceptible to seismic and volcanic events due to its location along the “Ring of Fire,” a zone of volcanoes and tectonic plate boundaries in the Pacific region. The region had previously experienced a devastating earthquake in December 1992, triggering a tsunami that claimed approximately 2,500 lives on Flores island in the southeastern part of Indonesia.