RismadarVoice Reporters, August 15, 2026
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Flores Island in eastern Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 20 people and forcing thousands of residents to flee to higher ground.
Rescue official Fathur Rahman told AFP that 20 people had been confirmed dead across four towns, while six others were injured and two remained trapped under rubble.
The hardest-hit area was reportedly Nagekeo Regency, where residents rushed to higher ground after the sea temporarily retreated, raising fears of a possible tsunami.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake, which was later lifted. Authorities, however, urged residents to stay away from damaged buildings because of the risk of further collapses caused by aftershocks.
Dozens of aftershocks were recorded, with the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude.
Rescue operations have been hampered by landslides that blocked roads leading to some affected communities. Emergency teams were searching collapsed buildings for survivors and assessing the extent of the damage.
Residents described scenes of panic as people fled homes, markets and hospitals following the powerful tremor.
The earthquake’s epicentre was located off the northern coast of Flores, about 68 kilometres northwest of Ende, according to US and Indonesian authorities.
Indonesia is highly prone to earthquakes because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense seismic activity.
Flores was previously hit by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992, which triggered a tsunami and killed about 2,500 people. In 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra triggered a devastating tsunami that killed about 220,000 people across the region, including approximately 170,000 in Indonesia.
Authorities said the situation remained under assessment as rescue teams continued searching for victims and monitoring sea levels.
