Indonesia earthquake: 20 dead after magnitude-7.7 tremor hits Flores region

At least 20 people have died after a powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia on Saturday, according to the local rescue agency. The quake, which hit in the early hours of the morning, was followed by dozens of aftershocks and briefly triggered a tsunami warning that was lifted about three hours later.

Rescue teams in the port town of Maumere, on Flores Island, recovered 20 bodies and found six people injured and two trapped under rubble, said Fathur Rahman, head of the city's rescue agency. Maumere is the main town in Sikka Regency, located in the east of Indonesia's vast archipelago.

Efforts to reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicentre, have been hampered by landslides blocking road access, and communication signals there have been disrupted. A team is attempting to reach the area by ferry, Rahman said. Around 2,000 residents in Nagekeo have evacuated, and damage has been reported to houses, warehouses, and government buildings, the national disaster mitigation agency BNPB said.

The governor of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, said at least five people died from collapsing rubble while they slept. The BNPB, which earlier put the toll at one dead and four injured, said it was still gathering data.

A video verified as being at a port in Maumere showed parts of a building collapsing into dust as people screamed and ran in the street. "The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family," said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura village. "There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves."

Strong shaking was felt across East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, and parts of South Sulawesi, with residents in several areas reporting tremors lasting about a minute. A hospital in the district of Ende was moving patients outside, and at least one landslide was reported.

The Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG recorded the first quake at 4:58 a.m. local time at a depth of 15 kilometres. The same area was hit by a magnitude-7.5 earthquake in 1992, causing extensive destruction. Indonesia straddles the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a highly seismically active zone where tectonic plates meet, creating frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.