At least 38 people have been killed after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday, according to the country’s disaster management agency.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Suharyanto said two people were seriously injured, 11 suffered minor injuries and about 2,000 residents had evacuated their homes.
Authorities initially issued a tsunami warning and urged people in coastal communities to move to higher ground. The alert was later lifted after Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency detected no significant changes in sea levels that would pose a tsunami threat.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck the Flores region at 5:58 a.m. local time, with its epicenter about 42 miles north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. Several aftershocks followed the initial tremor.
Search and rescue teams have been deployed across some of the hardest-hit areas, including Sikka, West Manggarai and East Manggarai.
Fathur Rahman, head of the Maumere Search and Rescue Agency, said rescuers had recovered at least 20 bodies across the three affected regencies. Eight victims were pulled from a landslide in the village of Reok in Manggarai.
Rescue crews were also searching for two villagers believed to be buried beneath tons of mud after the earthquake triggered a landslide. Several people with serious injuries were transported to nearby hospitals.
East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko said the quake caused extensive damage, including collapsed buildings, while widespread power and communication outages have complicated efforts to determine the full scale of the disaster.
“We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said.
Landslides triggered by the earthquake also blocked sections of the Trans-Flores highway in Ende regency. The roughly 435-mile mountain route is a major transportation corridor connecting communities across Flores Island.
Emergency crews are continuing search-and-rescue operations, while authorities assess damage and monitor the region for further aftershocks.
