A strong magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook the waters off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, causing structural damage and prompting a tsunami alert. Authorities advised individuals in affected coastal areas to relocate to higher elevations. The U.S Geological Survey reported the earthquake striking Indonesia’s Flores region at a depth of 10 kilometers around 5:58 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located 68 kilometers north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Following the initial tremor, multiple aftershocks occurred, though there were no immediate reports of casualties. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning for specific provinces such as East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi, advising residents to steer clear of beaches and riverbanks. The agency pinpointed the shallow undersea quake near Flores island.
Residents residing along the impacted coastlines were instructed to seek higher ground while officials monitored coastal tide gauges for any alterations. The earthquake’s effects were felt across much of Flores island, resulting in structural damages to homes and public infrastructure. However, official assessments regarding the extent of the damage or any casualties were not yet available.
Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka in East Nusa Tenggara province, mentioned that numerous buildings sustained damages due to the intense shaking, prompting people to flee to safer areas. She noted, “Many buildings here were damaged, with the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere collapsing.”
At St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, students attending morning Mass hurriedly left when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, shared the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, the seminary’s rector also known as Ritapiret Seminary on predominantly Catholic Flores island. Tanga recounted, “Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof. At least one priest sustained a broken leg while leaping from a building’s second floor during the quake.”
Indonesia, comprising over 17,000 islands, is susceptible to seismic activities and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the “Ring of Fire,” a region with numerous volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 1992, a magnitude 7 earthquake triggered a tsunami in the southeastern part of Flores island, claiming roughly 2,500 lives.
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