A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores island early Saturday with collapsing buildings and triggering panic across the region. The quake hit at a shallow depth near Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, followed by multiple aftershocks.
Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground. It was lifted about three hours later after monitoring showed no significant sea-level threat, though minor waves under one metre were recorded in some areas.
Casualty figures varied between sources. The East Nusa Tenggara governor reported five deaths mostly from collapsing rubble as people slept. The national disaster agency BNPB, however, put the toll at one dead and four injured. Local police said preliminary reports showed two deaths in Sikka Regency and three in Manggarai Regency.
Buildings were damaged across Flores and a port terminal waiting room in Maumere and an assembly hall at a seminary, where a priest broke his leg jumping from a second-floor window. Hospitals evacuated patients as a precaution, moving beds and medical equipment outdoors.
Strong shaking was felt in East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and parts of South Sulawesi. About 2,000 residents evacuated in Nagekeo district, with damage reported to homes and government buildings. Power outages and communication disruptions have complicated rescue efforts.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," making it highly prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. The region has suffered major disasters before, in 2004 Sumatra quake and tsunami that killed 230,000 people and a 1992 Flores tsunami that killed about 2,500.
