Around 5,000 individuals have been relocated following a powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia, resulting in a minimum of 53 casualties, road blockages, and landslides, as per authorities’ announcement on Sunday. Over 130 individuals sustained injuries, many with fractures. This seismic event on Saturday marked the most lethal in the Southeast Asian nation since a 2022 quake claimed the lives of hundreds in West Java.
The disaster mitigation agency BNPB reported that more than 3,300 individuals in the Sikka region either self-evacuated or sought refuge in a sports arena. In Sikka, some residents found themselves marooned outside collapsed residences under makeshift tarps, while others received medical attention in tents outside a hospital in Maumere, a port town.
Abdul Mutas, aged 63, mentioned, “I only brought my body,” after spending the night on a tarp amidst trees in Sikka. He recounted their escape from rising tides prompted by the earthquake. Simon Subandi, the deputy regent of Sikka, revealed that almost all residents preferred sleeping outdoors on porches or makeshift tents.
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya disclosed that over 3,500 military and police personnel were dispatched to the affected region. Concerns about aftershocks loomed among residents in Maumere, where a closed port displayed debris from collapsed structures. The disaster agency reported nearly 1,000 aftershocks post the earthquake.
Residents sought refuge at a sports stadium nearby, with makeshift cradles fashioned from clothing attached to tent frames for babies, while children engaged in soccer games outdoors. The head of the region’s disaster mitigation agency, Margaretha Movaldes Da Maga Bapa, expressed the haunting memories evoked by the quake, reminiscent of the 1992 disaster.
Search operations persisted, focusing on clearing debris in the severely impacted areas of Manggarai, East Manggarai, and Nagekeo to locate any individuals potentially trapped. Although no missing person reports were received, landslides and aftershocks posed challenges to the search efforts. While power supply restoration neared completion, work on fixing distribution lines continued.
The East Nusa Tenggara government declared a province-wide emergency, enabling resource mobilization and funding, as stated by BNPB. Geologist Dwikorita Karnawati highlighted the earthquake risk in the region due to the “Flores back-arc thrust fault,” a significant system of thrust faults. The area had experienced a devastating magnitude-7.5 earthquake in 1992. Indonesia, with its vast population residing in a geologically active zone known as the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” remains susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic activities.