Flores earthquake toll hits 47 as rescuers race through landslides
Rescue teams continued searching collapsed homes and landslide debris across Flores after a powerful earthquake killed 47 people. Damaged roads, power cuts and fears of aftershocks are slowing relief for thousands forced from their homes.
Search teams in eastern Indonesia continued to dig through collapsed buildings and landslide debris on Sunday, a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands on Flores island. Rescuers were looking for bodies and possible survivors in several regencies after landslides and building collapses cut off villages and trapped residents.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, the US Geological Survey said. The quake, about 10 kilometres deep off the coast of Flores, shook much of the island, sent residents running out in panic and was also felt in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara and parts of southern Sulawesi.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said at least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with more deaths reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies. Rescuers were still searching for villagers feared buried under landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.
The quake destroyed more than 900 homes and damaged nearly 450 others, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters, the agency said. Thousands of others spent the night outdoors, worried about strong aftershocks. At least 167 public facilities, including schools, health centres and churches, were also damaged.
Relief workers began distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were being set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications, and delivering aid to remote villages cut off by landslides, remained among the biggest challenges.
The quake also hit Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia's best-known tourist destinations, and landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometre route linking communities across the mountainous island. Many residents continued to sleep outside rather than return to damaged homes. "The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed," said Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo. Speaking from a makeshift green tent beside her damaged home, she said, "We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept."
Search teams resumed work on Sunday in areas that had remained inaccessible since the quake, especially in Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo regencies. "We have cleared most landslides and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, although communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts," said Fathur Rahman, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency. He said rescuers were focusing on the rubble of collapsed homes and other buildings to look for possible victims.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes. Flores has seen some of the country's deadliest disasters, including a 1992 earthquake and tsunami that killed about 2,500 people. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people, while a 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra in 2004 caused a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
With the death toll at 47, more than 100 people injured and thousands displaced, rescue teams on Sunday continued search operations and aid delivery across Flores as authorities worked to restore road access, power and communications.
With PTI Inputs
Search teams in eastern Indonesia continued to dig through collapsed buildings and landslide debris on Sunday, a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands on Flores island. Rescuers were looking for bodies and possible survivors in several regencies after landslides and building collapses cut off villages and trapped residents.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, the US Geological Survey said. The quake, about 10 kilometres deep off the coast of Flores, shook much of the island, sent residents running out in panic and was also felt in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara and parts of southern Sulawesi.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said at least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with more deaths reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies. Rescuers were still searching for villagers feared buried under landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.
The quake destroyed more than 900 homes and damaged nearly 450 others, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters, the agency said. Thousands of others spent the night outdoors, worried about strong aftershocks. At least 167 public facilities, including schools, health centres and churches, were also damaged.
Relief workers began distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were being set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications, and delivering aid to remote villages cut off by landslides, remained among the biggest challenges.
The quake also hit Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia's best-known tourist destinations, and landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometre route linking communities across the mountainous island. Many residents continued to sleep outside rather than return to damaged homes. "The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed," said Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo. Speaking from a makeshift green tent beside her damaged home, she said, "We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept."
Search teams resumed work on Sunday in areas that had remained inaccessible since the quake, especially in Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo regencies. "We have cleared most landslides and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, although communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts," said Fathur Rahman, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency. He said rescuers were focusing on the rubble of collapsed homes and other buildings to look for possible victims.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes. Flores has seen some of the country's deadliest disasters, including a 1992 earthquake and tsunami that killed about 2,500 people. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people, while a 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra in 2004 caused a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
With the death toll at 47, more than 100 people injured and thousands displaced, rescue teams on Sunday continued search operations and aid delivery across Flores as authorities worked to restore road access, power and communications.
With PTI Inputs
Search teams in eastern Indonesia continued to dig through collapsed buildings and landslide debris on Sunday, a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands on Flores island. Rescuers were looking for bodies and possible survivors in several regencies after landslides and building collapses cut off villages and trapped residents.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, the US Geological Survey said. The quake, about 10 kilometres deep off the coast of Flores, shook much of the island, sent residents running out in panic and was also felt in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara and parts of southern Sulawesi.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said at least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighbouring East Manggarai, with more deaths reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies. Rescuers were still searching for villagers feared buried under landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.
The quake destroyed more than 900 homes and damaged nearly 450 others, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters, the agency said. Thousands of others spent the night outdoors, worried about strong aftershocks. At least 167 public facilities, including schools, health centres and churches, were also damaged.
Relief workers began distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were being set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications, and delivering aid to remote villages cut off by landslides, remained among the biggest challenges.
The quake also hit Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia's best-known tourist destinations, and landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometre route linking communities across the mountainous island. Many residents continued to sleep outside rather than return to damaged homes. "The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed," said Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo. Speaking from a makeshift green tent beside her damaged home, she said, "We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept."
Search teams resumed work on Sunday in areas that had remained inaccessible since the quake, especially in Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo regencies. "We have cleared most landslides and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, although communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts," said Fathur Rahman, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency. He said rescuers were focusing on the rubble of collapsed homes and other buildings to look for possible victims.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes. Flores has seen some of the country's deadliest disasters, including a 1992 earthquake and tsunami that killed about 2,500 people. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people, while a 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra in 2004 caused a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
With the death toll at 47, more than 100 people injured and thousands displaced, rescue teams on Sunday continued search operations and aid delivery across Flores as authorities worked to restore road access, power and communications.
With PTI Inputs
