A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Indonesia's Flores island, claiming at least 41 lives. Rescue operations are currently underway to locate survivors buried by landslides and collapsed buildings.
The 41 fatalities across Manggarai and East Manggarai
The National Disaster Management Agency has confirmed that the death toll has reached at least 41 people, with the heaviest losses concentrated in two specific areas. According to the agency , 24 deaths occurred in the Manggarai regency and 17 in the neighboring East Manggarai region, though fatalities have also been recorded in the regencies of Sikka, Ngada, and Ende.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake originated 68 kilometers north-northwest of Ende in the East Nusa Tenggara province. The shallow depth of approximately 10 kilometers off the coast of Flores intensified the shaking, causing panic across the island and sending tremors as far as southern Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara.
Landslides and the severed Trans-Flores Highway
Recovery efforts are being severely hindered by the geography of the mountainous island and the resulting geological instability. Landslides triggered by the quake have blocked significant portions of the Trans-Flores Highway, a critical 700-kilometer artery that serves as the primary link between isolated communities on Flores.
Fathur Rahman, the head of the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency, stated that while most landslides have been cleared to reopen roads, communication disruptions and power outages continue to impede search efforts.. As reported by the Associated Press, rescue teams are prioritizing the rubble of collapsed buildings in the Manggarai, East Manggarai, and Nagekeo regencies to find those still missing.
5,000 displaced residents and the fear of aftershocks
The scale of structural failure has left a significant portion of the population without shelter. the National Disaster Management Agency reports that more than 900 homes were completely destroyed and nearly 450 others were damaged, forcing roughly 5,000 people into temporary emergency shelters.
Beyond residential losses, at least 167 public facilities—including churches, health centers, and schools—sustained damage . the psychological toll is evident in the testimony of residents like Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo, who desscribed the shaking as so intense that her home nearly collapsed, forcing her family to sleep in a makeshift tent to avoid potential aftershocks.
The shadow of the 1992 Flores disaster
This event serves as a grim reminder of the seismic volatility of the regioon, which has a hisory of catastrophic events. Flores previously suffered a devastating earthquake and tsunami in 1992 that resulted in approximately 2,500 deaths, marking it as one of the deadliest disasters in the country's history.
The recurrence of such high-magnitude events underscores the ongoing risk for Indonesia's tourist destinations and rural provinces. The current crisis echoes the 1992 tragedy in terms of the total isolation of remote villages, though the modern response involves more coordinated aid distribution of rice, medicine, and drinking water.
The missing count in Nagekeo and remote regencies
Despite the reported death toll, the final number of casualties remains unverified as rescuers only recently regained access to the most remote areas. Specifically, the search in Nagekeo regency is ongoing, and it remains unclear how many villagers were buried by landslides before the Trans-Flores Highway was cleared.
Because the report relies heavily on data from the National Disaster Management Agency and the USGS, the perspective of local village leaders in the most isolated zones remains missing. it is currently unknown if the 5,000 people in shelters represent the total displaced population or only those in accessible areas.
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