Indonesia Earthquake Kills at Least 51, Displaces Around 5,000

At least 51 people have been killed and around 5,000 displaced after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores island. The shallow quake hit shortly before 05:00 local time on Saturday, with rescuers continuing to search for survivors as authorities assess the extent of the damage.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said more than 900 homes and hundreds of other buildings were severely damaged by the earthquake and 341 subsequent aftershocks. Manggarai province was among the worst-affected areas, with 24 deaths reported, followed by 17 in East Manggarai, three in Sikka and at least one each in Ngada, Ende and West Manggarai. A total of 3,356 people were displaced in Sikka, while another 2,078 were evacuated in Manggarai.

The disaster has highlighted Indonesia’s vulnerability to major earthquakes, with the country located along the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire.” Tremors from the initial quake were reportedly felt as far west as Bima, while authorities also reported a separate magnitude 6.9 earthquake elsewhere in the country. The Flores quake was Indonesia’s deadliest since 2022, when hundreds of people were killed in West Java.