Twenty dead after Indonesia's magnitude-7.7 earthquake, rescuers say

Jakarta, Indonesia - At least 20 individuals lost their lives following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake and numerous aftershocks that struck off the eastern coast of Indonesia on Saturday, according to a rescue agency. The tremor triggered tsunami waves measuring less than 1 meter (3 feet) in several regions of the Southeast Asian country.

The tsunami warning was lifted after approximately three hours. In the port town of Maumere, the capital of Sikka Regency on Flores Island, rescuers discovered 20 dead, six injured and two trapped under debris, stated Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency. Access to the region nearest to the epicenter, Nagekeo, remains hindered as communication signals have been disrupted, Fathur informed Reuters.

Some attempts to reach Nagekeo via car were obstructed by landslides, while a ferry team was currently in progress. Around 2,000 residents in Nagekeo had evacuated, and there were reports of damage to houses, warehouses, and government facilities, as per the national disaster mitigation agency BNPB. The governor of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, disclosed that at least five individuals perished due to collapsing structures while sleeping.

The BNPB initially reported one death and four injuries, but clarified they were still collecting data. A video uploaded to Facebook, corroborated by Reuters as originating from a port in Maumere, depicted a building partially collapsing into rubble and people fleeing in terror. Residents in various areas reported the earthquake lasting approximately one minute.

A hospital in Ende district, East Nusa Tenggara Province, was evacuating patients, and Kompas TV footage showed a landslide. The Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG registered the initial quake at 4:58 a.m. (2158 GMT) at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), followed by several aftershocks. In 1992, the same area experienced a magnitude-7.5 earthquake that resulted in significant destruction at the time.

Indonesia lies within the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a highly seismically active zone where tectonic plates converge, resulting in an abundance of earthquakes and volcanoes.