DEADLY 7.7 MAGNITUDE QUAKE RATTLES EASTERN INDONESIA, SPARKS MASS EVACUATIONS

Rescue crews race against time as landslides cut off remote regencies and aftershocks hammer coastal communities along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

A rescue team searches for victims after earthquake in Indonesia | Pic: Reuters

MAUMERE, INDONESIA: A powerful 7.7 magnitude under-sea earthquake struck off the coast of Flores Island early Saturday morning, bringing structural collapse, localized tsunami waves, and severe trauma to eastern Indonesia. Hitting at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers at 5:58 a.m. local time, the quake woke thousands of residents to violent shaking, forcing immediate evacuations across the East Nusa Tenggara province as coastal tsunami warnings were activated.

In the port city of Maumere, search-and-rescue teams fought through the rubble of destroyed buildings—including the collapsed waiting room at Laurensius Say Port—where several fatalities were confirmed and dozens of injured victims were pulled from the debris. Further inland, emergency operations faced massive bottlenecks as earthquake-triggered landslides buried roads and severely damaged sections of the Trans-Flores highway. The region of Nagekeo, situated closest to the epicenter, was largely cut off due to blocked access and widespread power and telecommunication outages.

For many survivors, the physical destruction is accompanied by psychological trauma. "The trauma is overwhelming," said 37-year-old resident Siti Sulfia Bira, while taking shelter at a temporary relief camp. "When I was a kid I felt the 1992 quake and then the 2022 quake, and now this. So the fear is there, the trauma is there. Even worse is we have small children at home. We're now evacuating with a baby in tow... about a month and a half old."

Indonesia’s position along the "Pacific Ring of Fire"—a high-seismic zone where active tectonic plates converge—makes the archipelago vulnerable to frequent tremors and volcanic activity. As the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB Portal) and the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG Portal) deploy emergency response vessels and air logistics, rescue efforts continue under the threat of over 200 aftershocks hammering the island.