By Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
At least 20 people have been killed, six injured, and two trapped under rubble after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia’s Flores region on Friday. The United States Geological Survey reported the shallow undersea tremor had its epicenter 68 kilometers (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. Disaster mitigation teams quickly mobilized as preliminary damage assessments and search operations commenced across the remote mountainous terrain.
Casualties And Damage Assessments Mount Across Provinces
Official government figures initially put the death toll lower, but local rescue officials near the epicenter confirmed a higher toll. Fathur Rahman, head of the local rescue agency in the port town of Maumere, stated that rescuers found 20 dead, six injured, and two trapped under rubble. Maumere serves as the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island. Teams struggled to reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicenter, as communications were disrupted and attempts to travel by car were blocked by landslides, prompting another team to attempt access by ferry.
Preliminary data indicates widespread structural destruction. Footage on local television showed hospital staff moving equipment outdoors—including beds, IV stands, and oxygen cylinders—to set up temporary treatment areas after patients were evacuated as a precaution. Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka regency, described the severe impact.
“Many buildings here were damaged … I saw that the waiting room at the Pelni port terminal in Maumere had collapsed.”
Tsunami Warnings Issued And Lifted Across Regions
Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi provinces. Officials urged residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks, and directed coastline inhabitants to move toward higher ground. A stream of people moved inland as thousands voluntarily relocated. Australia’s tsunami warning center separately confirmed that the undersea earthquake posed “no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories.” Officials lifted the domestic warning roughly three hours after the initial jolt once monitoring detected no significant sea-level rise.
Ground Reports Capture Terror Of Powerful Shaking
Survivors and witnesses across Flores Island described chaotic scenes as the massive tremor and subsequent aftershocks tore through communities. Arnold Welianto of Talibura recalled being awakened by intense motion and rushing to check on family members.
“I was startled awake and immediately went to my child’s room.”
He noted that residents flooded roads after noticing the sea retreating.
“Some other residents were standing along the roadside because the sea had also receded. The water remained low for quite some time, so everyone panicked and ran – I went around to the community health centre, and the people there had already been evacuated.”
Religious sites also sustained heavy impacts. Students and staff at St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka—known locally as Ritapiret Seminary—fled in panic during morning Mass when an assembly hall roof collapsed. The Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, detailed the harrowing escape.
“Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof. At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake.”
Other residents adapted to emergency conditions outdoors. Yulian Juita Ekalia, a university lecturer from Ruteng, dragged her stove outside to cook out of fear of ongoing tremors, noting, “I was terrified.”
Seismic Vulnerability Along The Pacific Ring Of Fire
Indonesia is a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands uniquely prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Basin. Historical precedent highlights the region’s extreme seismic risk, recalling a December 1992 magnitude 7 earthquake that triggered a devastating tsunami killing about 2,500 people on the southeastern island of Flores. Global seismic activity has also remained elevated internationally, following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that rocked western Colombia and deadly back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that killed more than 6,000 people in Venezuela earlier in the year.
As emergency responders navigate blocked mountain passes and medical teams maintain outdoor triage stations, the true human and infrastructural cost of the disaster continues to unfold. Balancing rapid humanitarian deployment with rigorous safety protocols will dictate the region’s path toward recovery in the days ahead.
