Powerful Quakes Rock Indonesia, Leaving 40 Dead on Flores Island
Powerful earthquakes struck opposite ends of the Indonesian archipelago on Saturday, leaving at least 40 people dead in the remote island of Flores and damaging scores of buildings.
On Saturday, Indonesia was shaken by two powerful earthquakes, resulting in at least 40 deaths on Flores Island. The first quake, magnitude 7.7, struck off Flores island around 6 a.m. local time, triggering a tsunami warning which was later lifted. Ende, located about 500 miles east of Bali, felt the tremor's effects. Around 13 hours later, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook North Sumatra province, near Pematangsiantar, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The Flores earthquake had 52 aftershocks ranging from 3.6 to 6.2 in magnitude, prompting authorities to evacuate around 2,000 residents and move patients and essential equipment from several hospitals. The quakes are part of a series of disasters affecting Indonesia, a country situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it prone to seismic activity.
The country is currently grappling with forest fires exacerbated by a developing El Niño and a series of devastating floods and landslides in Sumatra earlier in the year.
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