jakarta —
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores island on Saturday morning, damaging buildings, shocking residents and forcing them to evacuate their homes.
At least one person died, according to the national disaster mitigation agency BNPB, but the death toll has been revised downward from the original two.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake occurred at around 6 a.m. local time, about 68 kilometers northwest of Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, and was followed by aftershocks.
According to the Associated Press, Indonesia’s National Geophysical Agency initially issued a tsunami warning (which was later lifted) and urged residents to seek higher ground.
According to the USGS, about 500,000 people would be exposed to very strong or severe shaking, which could cause mild to moderate damage to well-built buildings and severe damage to poorly constructed buildings.
The quake was felt across Flores, a lush mountainous island in the Sunda archipelago that also includes the tourist island of Bali. Flores is known for its colorful volcanic lakes and as the gateway to Komodo National Park, home to Earth’s largest lizard population. It has a population of approximately 2 million people, most of whom are spread out in small villages.
Videos posted on social media showed buildings collapsing and panicked residents running and screaming as dust flew into the sky. One video showed damage to a hospital in the village of Aeramo.
Students at the Roman Catholic Seminary of St. Peter’s in the coastal village of Sicca were attending morning Mass when the roof of the meeting hall collapsed, sending people fleeing in panic, said Reverend Guide Rubertus Tanga, the seminary’s rector, according to the Associated Press.
“Students and nuns fled in panic under the collapsed roof,” Tanga said. “At least one priest broke his leg jumping from the second floor of a building during the earthquake.”
A 51-year-old woman from Talibra town said the quake was “massive” and forced her family to quickly evacuate their home.
“The earthquake was big and the impact was very strong, so we were resting at home with my family. There were 13 people in the house and everyone ran to save themselves,” resident Nona told Reuters.
A 16-year-old boy who lives in the same area said it was the first time he had felt such a strong earthquake and immediately fled to higher ground.
“I was in shock because of the earthquake. I was sleeping,” Ioan Rindt told Reuters. “Yes, I’m still panicking and very worried.”
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to seismic activity and has been hit by several devastating earthquakes in the past. The country is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. This ring is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, stretching from Japan and Indonesia on one side of the Pacific Ocean to California and South America on the other.
The devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 was caused when the Indonesian island of Sumatra was hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake. The resulting disaster killed more than 220,000 people along the coast, more than half of them in Indonesia.
Most recently, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Lombok in August 2018, killing hundreds of people. Later that month, three strong earthquakes shook the South Pacific and several islands in Indonesia.
Then, in September of that year, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami hit Sulawesi, killing hundreds more.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
