At least 20 people have been confirmed dead and thousands evacuated following a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Flores island in Indonesia. The quake, which hit early Saturday morning, caused widespread panic and prompted residents to flee to higher ground amid fears of a tsunami. Rescuers are currently combing through debris for survivors, though the effort has been complicated by landslides blocking several roads.
Rescue official Fathur Rahman reported that at least 20 people were confirmed dead from four different towns on the island. Six individuals were injured, and two remain buried under the rubble. Two people are known to be trapped alive under debris in the neighboring Manggarai regency.
Residents in Nagekeo, the area closest to the epicentre, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated, a possible sign of an approaching tsunami. Although a tsunami warning was later lifted, people were warned not to return to damaged buildings due to the risk of aftershocks. Dozens of aftershocks have already been felt, with the strongest measured at a magnitude of 6.1.
Yohanes Babo, a 56-year-old resident of Nagekeo, described the scene during the quake: 'The shaking was strong. Thankfully, we were already outside the house. People were panicking, running here and there. We're evacuating for the time being... and trying to get to the hills.' He added that his family was safe and no one was harmed.
The epicentre of the shallow quake was located just off the north coast of the island, about 68 kilometres (42 miles) northwest of the coastal town of Ende, according to US and Indonesian authorities. The stricken area is comprised mostly of towns and villages with few, if any, high-rise buildings.
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) initially warned of possible tsunami waves following the quake and urged people to get to higher ground. Long queues of people could be seen evacuating towns on foot, by motorbike and car, some piled into the back of pickup trucks. BMKG earthquake and tsunami director Wijayanto stated, 'We have ended (the tsunami warning) but we will keep monitoring the sea level.'
Indonesia and neighboring countries experience frequent earthquakes due to their location in the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' -- an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. Flores was struck by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992, which triggered a tsunami and resulted in around 2,500 deaths. The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, triggered by a 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra, killed 220,000 throughout the region, with about 170,000 deaths in Indonesia alone.
