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A powerful 7.7M earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores Island early Saturday, killing at least 20 people, collapsing buildings and sending thousands of residents fleeing as rescuers continue to search through debris for survivors.
The quake struck the Flores region at 5.58 a.m. local time (9.58 p.m. GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The agency recorded the shallow earthquake at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), while Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency recorded the epicenter at 8.41 degrees south latitude and 121.39 degrees east longitude.
The German Research Centre for Geosciences earlier estimated the earthquake’s magnitude at 7.67.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, known as BMKG, initially issued a tsunami warning for several areas and urged residents to move to higher ground.
The warning was later lifted, but authorities cautioned residents against returning to damaged buildings as aftershocks could bring weakened structures down.
The earthquake was followed by dozens of aftershocks, with the strongest measuring 6.1M. Strong shaking was reported across several areas, prompting frightened residents to flee their homes and shelter in the streets.
The epicenter was located just off Flores’ northern coast, about 68 kilometers northwest of the coastal town of Ende, according to U.S. and Indonesian authorities.
Rescue teams continued to assess damage and casualties in affected parts of Flores as emergency response operations moved forward.
Indonesia lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin that is highly vulnerable to earthquakes.
Flores was struck by a 7.7M earthquake in 1992 that triggered a tsunami and killed around 2,500 people.
In 2004, a 9.1M earthquake struck off Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.
In 2018, an earthquake struck Lombok, followed by several more tremors over the next couple of weeks. More than 550 people died on the island and neighboring Sumbawa.
Later that year, a 7.5M earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Palu on Sulawesi Island, leaving more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
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