7.7 quake kills 47 in Indonesia

DEADLY TREMOR | Hundreds flee homes as buildings collapse across Flores; tsunami warning lifted; another powerful jolt reported hours later

HISTORIC CATASTROPHES

1. 2004: 9.1 quake off Sumatra triggers Indian Ocean tsunami; over 2,27,000 dead or missing across the region, including 1,68,000 in Indonesia, 35,322 in Sri Lanka, 16,269 in India,  8,212 in Thailand, 289 in Somalia and 108 in Maldives.
2. August 2018:  6.9 quake hits Lombok; hundreds killed.
3. September 2018: 7.5 quake and tsunami strike Sulawesi; hundreds killed.

FPJ World Desk Mumbai

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores island, about 68 km northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, at 6am on Saturday, killing at least 47 people, damaging buildings and forcing hundreds of residents to flee homes, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB put the toll at 47 in an update in the evening. It said 50 people were injured, some seriously.

Authorities initially issued a tsunami warning but later lifted it. Waves up to one metre high were recorded in Maurole, Ende, as per Indone­sia’s meteorology, climatology and geophysical agency.

The quake was felt across Flores, a mountainous island in the Sunda chain, which also includes tourist hotspot Bali. Flores, with a population of about two million, is known for its colourful volcanic lakes and as a gateway to Komodo National Park. Health care facilities, schools, government offices and over 50 homes were damaged, BNPB said. Videos posted on social media showed buildings collapsing and panicked residents running as dust filled the air. One video showed damage to a hospital in the village of Aeramo.

Theresia Uta, 52, said she had just finished breakfast in the coastal town of Maumere when the earthquake struck. She ran outside and held on to a tree in the yard for 10 minutes until the shaking stopped.

“Although I have experienced several quakes on Flores before, this was by far the strongest and longest one,” she told CNN. Uta said she quickly got into her car to evacuate, adding several landslides had blocked roads. Students at the Roman Catholic St Peter Major Seminary in Sikka were attending Mass when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, prompting people to flee in panic, seminary rector Rev Guidelbertus Tanga said, as per the Associated Press.

“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.”

Nona, 51, a Talibura resident, said the quake was “massive” and forced her family to rush out of home. “The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family. There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves,” she told Reuters.

Yoan Rinto, 16, who lives in the same area, said it was the first time he had felt such a strong tremor and he ran to higher ground. “I was shocked because of the quake. I was sleeping,” Rinto said. “Yes, am still panicking, worrying a lot.”

About 2,000 residents of Nagekeo regency evacuated as a precaution, BNPB said. The agency deployed a helicopter and an emergency response team, saying the area’s landscape, comprising many islands, made access difficult. Footage from the national search and rescue agency showed rescue workers digging through rubble for possible survivors.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena told the media victims had been killed in their sleep by collapsing rubble.

Arnold Welianto, who lives in coastal Talibura village in Sikka, said he was awakened by the “very strong shaking”. “I was startled awake and immediately went to my child's room,” he told the BBC. Welianto said many residents had already fled to the hills after the sea receded. 

“Some other residents were standing along the roadside because the sea had also receded,” he said. Another magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Sumatra hours later, the USGS said.