7.7-magnitude earthquake kills 51 in Indonesia

WEB DESK: A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday, killing at least 51 people and injuring more than 100 others, while landslides and collapsed buildings disrupted rescue operations, authorities said on Sunday.

The powerful earthquake hit East Nusa Tenggara province, triggering widespread damage and forcing around 5,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said 36 people were seriously injured while 77 others suffered minor injuries.

The earthquake was followed by around 341 aftershocks, making it the deadliest earthquake to hit Indonesia since a 2022 tremor in West Java killed hundreds of people.

More than 3,300 people in the Sikka region either evacuated themselves or sought shelter at a sports arena, according to Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency BNPB.

Residents in Sikka were seen staying outside collapsed or damaged homes under makeshift tents made from tarpaulins, while medical teams treated injured people in tents outside a hospital in the port town of Maumere.

Abdul Mutas, 63, told Reuters that he and his family spent the night on a tarp surrounded by trees after fleeing their home.

“The tides were rising, so we ran,” he said, describing the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.

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Simon Subandi, deputy regent of Sikka, said many residents were afraid to return indoors and spent the night on porches or in tents outside their homes.

More than 3,500 military and police personnel have been deployed to assist with rescue and relief operations, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said.

Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said rescuers had reached parts of Maumere that were initially cut off by landslides.

Authorities said there was no immediate confirmed figure for people missing, while many victims were believed to be trapped beneath rubble. More than 1,300 houses have been damaged, BNPB said.

The earthquake also disrupted essential services, with state energy company Pertamina reporting that 20 petrol stations had become non-operational because of power outages.

The East Nusa Tenggara government is considering declaring a provincial emergency, a move that would allow authorities to mobilise additional resources and funding for rescue and relief efforts.

Indonesia’s geophysics agency said the region had previously experienced a magnitude-7.5 earthquake in 1992 that caused extensive destruction.

The latest earthquake struck an area located along Indonesia’s section of the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the world’s most active seismic zones, where tectonic plates frequently interact and trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.