A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 hit the coast of Indonesia early Saturday and killed at least five people, triggering a tsunami warning and a series of aftershocks, according to the nation’s geophysics agency BMKG. Residents in coastal parts of Flores island were urged to leave the area immediately and move to higher ground.
Visuals of the earthquake’s impact surfaced on social media, showing buildings collapsing and crumbling to pieces as people nearby ran to safety. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the visuals.
Initial reports also suggested that houses and public infrastructure had been damaged.
5 killed in Indonesia earthquake
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said at a press conference that five people were killed after rubble collapsed on them while they were asleep.
Meanwhile, the national disaster mitigation agency BNPB said that one person had died and four others were injured.
Indonesia earthquake: Tsunami warning issued
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck the Flores region at a depth of 10 kilometres at 5:58 a.m. Indonesia time. The epicentre was located 68 km (42 miles) north-northwest of Ende, a city in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning covering parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces. It also advised people to stay away from beaches and riverbanks.
Evacuation ordered
The agency said the earthquake occurred under the sea near Flores island at a shallow depth. People living along the coast were asked to head to higher ground while officials monitored coastal tide gauges for possible changes.
Abdul Muhari, an official at the national disaster agency, BNPB, said, “We strongly urge our communities along the northern coast of Flores and in the southern parts, on the southern islands and across the southern region, to carry out self-evacuation immediately.”
Residents should “move away from the shore, either by going more than two kilometres inland or by moving up into hilly areas more than 10 meters high,” he told local broadcaster Kompas TV.
‘Students ran in panic’
Students at St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka were attending morning Mass when they fled after the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, the seminary’s rector, the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, said. The seminary is locally known as Ritapiret Seminary and is located on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.
“Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof,” Tanga was quoted as saying by news agency AP. “At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake.”
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic activity. The country lies along the Pacific Basin’s “Ring of Fire”, an area of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
With inputs from agencies
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