Indonesia Quake Kills 51 and Thousands Flee Homes

A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday with killing at least 51 people also injuring more than 100 and displacing thousands across Flores island in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The quake centered 68 km north-northwest of Ende at a depth of 10 km that triggered 341 aftershocks, landslides and blocked roads. It is Indonesia's deadliest earthquake since 2022 when hundreds died in West Java.

Deaths were reported across six regencies with 24 in Manggarai and 17 in East Manggarai, along with fatalities in Sikka, Ngada and Ende. More than 900 homes were destroyed and 450 damaged and forcing roughly 5,000 people into temporary shelters. Over 1,300 homes and 167 public facilities including schools and health centers sustained damage.

In Sikka's port town of Maumere residents slept outdoors under tarps fearing aftershocks. "The tides were rising, so we ran" said resident Abdul Mutas. Farmer Anastasia Imad in Labuan Bajo, gateway to Komodo National Park, described the shaking as terrifying enough to nearly collapse her home.

More than 3,500 military and police personnel have been deployed for rescue and relief operations. Teams have cleared major landslides and reopened roads to isolated villages, though power and communication outages continue hampering efforts, officials said. Twenty petrol stations remain shut due to blackouts.

Authorities are considering declaring a provincial emergency to mobilize additional funding and resources. Relief agencies have begun distributing food, water, blankets and medicine.

Flores has a history of devastating disasters, including a 1992 quake-tsunami that killed 2,500 people. Indonesia, home to 290 million people across 17,000 islands, sits on the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" making it highly vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis.