38 dead after 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia
A powerful earthquake hits Indonesia, killing 38 people and causing buildings to collapse, with a tsunami warning issued.
Translated by Qiyas from القبس — Original source
The French Press Agency reported, citing Indonesian officials, that 38 people were killed in a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia on Saturday, with dozens of buildings collapsing. Indonesian authorities lifted the tsunami warning following the quake. Wijayanto, head of the Earthquake and Tsunami Division at the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics, confirmed that sea levels continued to be monitored after waves less than one meter high were recorded in several coastal areas.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers beneath the seabed, with its epicenter located 68 kilometers northwest of Ende city. Residents felt the tremors strongly for about a minute in areas such as Ngawi and Bima, followed by successive aftershocks. A spokesperson for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency stated that many people rushed out of their homes, but no initial reports of damage from the earthquake had been received.
Video footage shared on Facebook showed parts of a building collapsing amid dust and debris in the capital of Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia, as people screamed and fled into the streets. Authorities urged residents of coastal areas on Flores Island to evacuate immediately to higher ground following the quake.
A spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency said, “We strongly urge communities along the northern coast of Flores Island, in southern areas, on the southern islands, and in the southern region to self-evacuate immediately.” The spokesperson added, speaking to the local Kompas TV channel, that residents must stay away from the shore, either by moving inland for more than two kilometers or by relocating to mountainous areas with elevations exceeding 10 meters.
Prior to this, authorities had advised residents along affected coastlines to move to higher ground, while officials closely monitored coastal tide gauges in anticipation of any changes. Indonesia and neighboring countries frequently experience earthquakes due to their location within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
