Rescuers started arriving today for thousands of evacuees on Indonesia‘s Flores Island after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed 51 people, injured dozens and damaged hundreds of houses and buildings.
Some 5,000 people fled their homes as the quake hit the island on Saturday at 5.58am local time – around 11pm in the UK.
It was followed by at least 341 aftershocks, a spokesman for the BNPB national disaster agency, Berton Suar Pelita Panjaitan, said.
BNPB head Suharyanto said Sunday at least five helicopters, several planes, a naval vessel and search and rescue ships were on their way to help.
The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said Sunday the death toll had risen to 51 from 47 the day before. Another 132 people were injured, with no reports of missing persons.
Survivors were in urgent need of assistance in the form of emergency tents, food, medicines, blankets, camp beds, mats, clean water and electricity generators.
The epicentre of the shallow quake was located just off the north coast of the island, geological authorities said. The affected areas have few, if any, high-rise buildings.
Berton said at least 914 houses were severely damaged and hundreds of others to a lesser degree.
Dozens of public facilities were also stricken, including 93 educational and 36 health facilities, and 38 government offices.
A rescue team searches for victims in the ruins of the Laurensius Say Port in Maumere, Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara yesterday
Indonesian military and rescue personnel search through debris at a damaged building
Evacuees affected by the earthquake were moved to temporary shelters in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara province today
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Saturday preparations were under way to bring aid to thousands in temporary shelters.
The Indonesian government sent 50,000 aid packages weighing a total of 275 tonnes to the area and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen offered help from the bloc’s Copernicus Earth observation satellites.
‘Europe stands ready to deploy Copernicus, our eyes in the sky, to support search and rescue efforts. Indonesia, we stand with you,’ she wrote on X.
In Ruteng, a town about 124 miles from the worst-hit part of the island, heavy machinery was seen clearing rubble from the street on Sunday.
Yohana Raisita Damalia Mari, a spokeswoman for the local hospital, said the building had been badly damaged, and patients were evacuated to tents erected outside.
A woman underwent an emergency C-section in an intact storage room converted into a temporary operating theatre.
‘Thank God, the surgery went smoothly and both the patient and her baby are safe,’ said Yohana.
Herybertus Geradus Laju Nabit, mayor of the Manggarai regency, said it was impossible to predict when the aftershocks would end.
‘Therefore, our first appeal is: be vigilant. Stay alert,’ he said.
After Saturday’s quake, Flores residents ran for the hills as the sea retreated, a possible sign of an approaching tsunami.
A tsunami warning was later lifted, but authorities urged people not to return to damaged buildings for fear that aftershocks may bring them down.
Waves of up to 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) were reported in some coastal regions, according to Indonesia’s BMKG geological agency.
Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
A man walks amid the debris from a damaged building on Sunday following the quake in Borong, East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara
Police officers inspect a heavily-damaged house after the earthquake was felt in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province
People rest in shelters at a makeshift evacuation center at a stadium in the aftermath
People in some areas were left without electricity and telecommunications and at least one emergency access road remained inaccessible.
‘We need food, drink, medicines, and diapers for the children,’ Umri, a resident of Nangahale village on the north coast of Flores, told AFP on Sunday morning.
The 55-year-old, who like many Indonesians uses one name, has been hiding out on a hilltop for 24 hours with others afraid to return home.
Nurhidayati, also 55, spent the night on a mat on the same hill.
‘I’m still terrified; my heart is pounding hard remembering yesterday’s tremor… We just ran up here yesterday. I’m very scared now, still traumatised by the quake in 1992. I don’t dare to go home,’ she said.
‘I hope the government will soon distribute logistics to help us,’ said Nurhidayati.
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