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The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia on August 15 has reached 68.
Seismologists have logged at least 235 aftershocks, with the most powerful registering at a magnitude of 6.2.
More than 900 homes were destroyed in the earthquake, leaving over 1,300 partially damaged, and at least 5,000 people had been relocated to temporary shelters.
Landslides had cut off access to several sections of the roughly 700-kilometer-long highway connecting settlements across the Flores region.
Authorities confirmed that 213 people sustained injuries alongside the 68 fatalities, adding that widespread blackouts have created major obstacles for search and rescue teams.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Melki Laka Lena announced that a 14-day state of emergency had been declared to accelerate search and rescue, evacuation, health services, shelter, transportation, and infrastructure efforts.
Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Abdul Muhari stated that about 1,500 security personnel were dispatched to the disaster zone, accompanied by 275 metric tons of emergency relief supplies delivered via airlift.
Noting that no reports of missing persons had been received, Muhari stated that search and rescue operations were nevertheless continuing in the areas affected by the earthquake.
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