Indonesia Earthquake Kills 51, Displaces Thousands on Flores Island

Rescuers arrived on Indonesia's Flores Island today to assist thousands of evacuees after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed 51 people, injured 132, and damaged hundreds of houses and buildings.

The National Search and Rescue Agency reported the death toll rose to 51 from 47 the previous day. The quake struck the island on Saturday at 5:58 a.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the north coast. It was followed by at least 341 aftershocks, according to Berton Suar Pelita Panjaitan, a spokesman for the BNPB national disaster agency.

Tsunami warnings were issued and later lifted, though small tsunamis were reported, including a 1.61-meter (5.3 feet) wave in Riung and 0.94-meter (3.1 feet) waves in Maurole. Some 5,000 people fled their homes, with 3,356 displaced in Sikka and 2,078 evacuated in Manggarai. At least 914 houses were severely damaged, along with dozens of public facilities, including 93 educational and 36 health facilities, and 38 government offices.

Landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a 700-kilometer road linking communities across the mountainous island. Communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts, according to Fathur Rahman, head of the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere. Survivors urgently need emergency tents, food, medicines, blankets, camp beds, mats, clean water, and electricity generators.

The Indonesian government sent 50,000 aid packages weighing 275 tonnes, and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen offered help from the bloc's Copernicus Earth observation satellites.