At least 47 people were killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, and dozens of aftershocks struck off eastern Indonesia yesterday, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in a statement.
Rescue teams have yet to reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicentre, after landslides blocked roads and disrupted communications, officials said.
“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong,” said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara. “There were 13 of us inside the house, and we all ran to save ourselves.”
Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre (3 feet) were recorded in several areas of the Southeast Asian nation after the early-morning quake. Authorities lifted a tsunami warning about three hours later.
Earlier, rescuers in the port town of Maumere found 20 dead, six injured and two people trapped under rubble, said Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency. Maumere is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia.
Suharyanto, head of the BNPB, earlier said residents remained trapped in several buildings across the affected area, while there were reports of landslides blocking a number of roads.
About 2,000 residents in Nagekeo were evacuated, and damage was reported to homes, warehouses and government buildings, the BNPB said. Authorities also reported power outages and traffic congestion in parts of the regency.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena told a press conference that at least five people were killed when buildings collapsed as they slept.
Preliminary BNPB data showed 157 homes were heavily damaged, 41 moderately damaged and 148 lightly damaged. Damage was also reported at 87 schools, 18 health facilities, five places of worship and six office buildings, along with other infrastructure.
Parts of a building collapsed into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran in the street, according to a Facebook video, verified by Reuters as being filmed at a port in Maumere.
Rescuers were searching for survivors beneath a partially collapsed port building.
Strong shaking was felt across East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and parts of South Sulawesi, the BNPB said, with residents in several areas reporting tremors lasting about a minute.
A hospital in Ende district in East Nusa Tenggara was moving patients outside, Kompas TV footage showed, while Kompas.com reported at least one landslide.
Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG recorded the first quake at 4.58am (2158 GMT) at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), followed by several aftershocks.
The BMKG said the same area was hit by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in 1992 that caused extensive destruction.
Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a seismically active zone where tectonic plates meet, triggering frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami struck the city of Palu on Sulawesi island, killing more than 4,000 people.
