Around 5,000 individuals have been relocated following a powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia, resulting in a death toll of at least 53 individuals, obstructing transportation routes, and triggering landslides, as per authorities’ reports on Sunday. Over 130 people have sustained injuries, with many suffering from broken bones.
The earthquake on Saturday marked the most fatal incident in the Southeast Asian nation since a quake in 2022 claimed the lives of hundreds in West Java. The Sikka region saw over 3,300 individuals evacuate voluntarily or find shelter in a sports arena, as noted by the disaster mitigation agency BNPB.
Numerous Sikka residents found themselves stranded outside collapsed residences, seeking refuge under makeshift tarp shelters. Some sought medical assistance in tents outside a hospital in Maumere, a port town. Abdul Mutas, 63, shared his experience of fleeing with his family to higher ground as the tremors hit, leaving them with only the clothes on their backs.
Simon Subandi, the deputy regent of Sikka, revealed that the majority of residents opted to sleep outdoors on porches or in tents due to safety concerns. The Cabinet Secretary, Teddy Indra Wijaya, disclosed that over 3,500 military and police personnel have been dispatched to the affected region.
Residents expressed fear of aftershocks at the now-closed port in Maumere, where debris littered the area from collapsed structures. The disaster agency reported nearly 1,000 aftershocks following the initial quake. In a nearby sports stadium serving as an evacuation center, residents queued for warm beverages as mothers improvised cradles for their infants using pieces of clothing.
Margaretha Movaldes Da Maga Bapa, head of the local disaster mitigation agency, highlighted the psychological impact of the earthquake, reminiscent of the 1992 tremor. Search and rescue efforts focused on clearing rubble in the worst-hit areas to locate any potential survivors trapped beneath debris, although landslides and aftershocks complicated the operation.
While power supply has been mostly restored, efforts are ongoing to repair distribution lines. The East Nusa Tenggara government declared a state of emergency for the province, enabling the mobilization of resources and funding. Geology expert Dwikorita Karnawati warned of the region’s earthquake vulnerability due to the presence of the “Flores back-arc thrust fault,” a significant fault system.
The area affected by the earthquake had previously experienced a devastating magnitude-7.5 quake in 1992, according to Indonesia’s geophysics agency. Indonesia, with its population of 290 million spread across numerous islands, is situated along the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a volatile zone where tectonic plates converge, resulting in frequent seismic activity and volcanic eruptions.