Indonesia Flores earthquake kills 47 as small tsunamis hit coastal villages

A powerful undersea earthquake struck off Flores, killing residents and damaging coastal communities. Smaller tsunamis, landslides and cut-off villages are likely to push the toll higher.Image used for representational purposes onlyA magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores region early on Saturday, killing at least 47 people, injuring dozens, collapsing buildings and triggering panic in an area that is vulnerable to major quakes. Authorities said the toll was likely to rise as rescue teams worked through landslides, damaged infrastructure and communication disruptions.Officials initially issued a tsunami warning and told coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted it after Indonesia's meteorological agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that threatened coastal communities. The agency, however, said some smaller tsunamis were recorded after the quake, which was followed by at least 235 aftershocks, the largest measuring 6.2.The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 5:58 am local time at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The meteorological agency said sea-level monitoring stations detected small tsunamis in coastal villages in Manggarai and East Manggarai regencies. Video obtained by The Associated Press showed the coastal village of Riung in Ngada regency covered in mud and debris after what the agency described as a 1.61-metre tsunami. Fishing boats were left stranded ashore, infrastructure was damaged and homes were surrounded by sediment left by receding waters.Waves measuring 0.94 metres were observed in Maurole in Ende Regency. Tsunami waves exceeding 0.5 metres were also detected in Bulukumba in South Sulawesi and Sape in Bima Regency. Later on Saturday afternoon, a separate 6.9-magnitude land-based earthquake struck North Sumatra province in western Indonesia. According to the USGS, it was 172.5 kilometres deep, and Indonesian authorities said it was too deep to cause significant damage or casualties. East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko said power outages had slowed the flow of information from towns and villages and complicated search and rescue work. "We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions," Darmoko said. He said landslides triggered by the quake had blocked the Trans-Flores highway, the roughly 700-kilometre paved mountain road that runs across Flores Island from Labuan Bajo to Larantuka.National Disaster Management Agency chief Suharyanto said rescuers had recovered at least 47 bodies, mostly in Sikka, Manggarai and East Manggarai, and that at least 50 people had been taken to hospitals. He said at least 157 houses were flattened and nearly 200 more were damaged, forcing about 2,000 villagers into temporary shelters. More than 100 public facilities, including schools, medical centres and churches, were also destroyed. Fathur Rahman, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka, said the number of dead could rise because landslides had buried or cut off many remote villages across six regencies on Flores Island. He said some remote villages were completely buried, while damaged infrastructure and a lack of heavy equipment were slowing rescue efforts. Authorities deployed three helicopters and a rescue vessel to support logistics and emergency operations, including possible evacuations, in East Nusa Tenggara, a province made up of many islands.The quake was felt across much of Flores, with early reports pointing to heavy damage. Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka, said people ran in panic to higher ground. "Many buildings here were damaged ... I saw that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere had collapsed," she said.At St Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, students attending morning Mass fled after the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, said the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, known locally as Ritapiret Seminary. "Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof," Tanga said. "At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake." Damage was also reported in Labuan Bajo, the gateway town to Komodo National Park, as well as in Bima in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara and in parts of southern Sulawesi.Authorities had initially warned people in parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi to stay away from beaches and riverbanks after the shallow undersea quake near Flores. Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it lies on the Ring of Fire. In 1992, a powerful earthquake caused a tsunami on Flores that killed about 2,500 people, while a 7.5-magnitude quake in 2018 triggered a localised tsunami that killed more than 4,400 people. In December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Saturday's quake again brought deaths, destruction and small tsunamis to the region, with rescue efforts still under way and the toll expected to rise.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 15, 2026 20:36 IST