On a Saturday morning local time, a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake shook the waters off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores Island, leaving a trail of destruction that has claimed at least 40 lives, left dozens injured, and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate their damaged homes.
According to data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the seismic event hit at approximately 6 a.m. local time, with its epicenter located roughly 68 kilometers (42 miles) northwest of the city of Ende, in the East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. The undersea quake, which struck at a relatively shallow depth, sent strong tremors across coastal and inland communities on the island, damaging residential and public buildings and triggering widespread panic among local populations.
By Saturday evening local time, Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB), released an updated casualty report confirming the death toll of at least 40 people. In addition to the fatalities, the agency noted that 50 more people have been admitted to local medical facilities with injuries ranging from minor to critical, as emergency response teams continue to comb through damaged structures to search for any additional missing persons or casualties.