Rescue crews dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris in eastern Indonesia on Sunday as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least ۴۷ people, injured more than ۱۰۰ and displaced thousands.
At least ۲۴ people died in Manggarai regency and ۱۷ in neighbouring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the national disaster management agency said. Rescuers were still searching for people feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.
The magnitude ۷.۷ earthquake struck ۶۸km (۴۲ miles) north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province, the USGS said. The quake, at a depth of about ۱۰km (۶ miles) off the coast of Flores, rattled much of the island and sent residents fleeing in panic. Tremors were also felt in neighbouring West Nusa Tenggara and parts of southern Sulawesi.
The disaster agency said the quake destroyed more than ۹۰۰ homes and damaged nearly ۴۵۰ more, forcing about ۵,۰۰۰ people into temporary shelters. Thousands more spent the night outdoors, fearing strong aftershocks. At least ۱۶۷ public facilities, including schools, health centres and churches, were also damaged.
Relief workers have begun distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were being set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications as well as delivering aid to remote villages isolated by landslides remained among the biggest challenges.
The quake also struck Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo national park, one of Indonesia’s best-known tourist destinations. Landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly ۷۰۰km (۴۳۵ mile) road linking communities across the mountainous island.
Many residents continued to sleep outside rather than risk returning to damaged homes.
“The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed,” said Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo, speaking from a makeshift green tent beside her damaged home. “We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept.”
Teams resumed searches on Sunday in areas that had remained inaccessible since the quake, particularly in Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo regencies.
“We have cleared most landslides and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, although communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts,” said Fathur Rahman, head of the search and rescue office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency.
He said rescuers were focusing on searching the rubble of collapsed homes and other buildings for possible victims.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than ۱۷,۰۰۰ islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “ring of fire”, a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes.
Flores has experienced some of the country’s deadliest disasters. A powerful earthquake and tsunami in ۱۹۹۲ killed about ۲,۵۰۰ people on the island.
In ۲۰۱۸, a magnitude ۷.۵ earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than ۴,۴۰۰ people. In ۲۰۰۴, a magnitude ۹.۱ quake off Sumatra unleashed a tsunami that killed about ۲۳۰,۰۰۰ people in a dozen countries.
