A powerful earthquake hit Indonesia as authorities told residents to stay away from beaches in case of tsunamis and hundreds were forced to evacuate.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian coast around 5.58am local time, around midnight in the UK.

Indonesia’s Flores Island was hit by the quake with a depth of 10km, with the epicentre 68km (42 miles) from Ende, on the southern coast of the island, in East Nusa Tenggara province.

No deaths or injuries were reported immediately after the quake, which was followed by two aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 6.1.

Authorities warned of tsunamis and told residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks as the shallow quake threatened Indonesian coastlines.

Video appearing to be of the Port of Maumere on Flores captured crumbling buildings and shattered windows as people screamed and ran through the streets.

Comprising 17,000 islands, Indonesia is vulnerable to earthquakes because of its position on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, a series of volcanoes and fault lines around the ocean.

Lukas Lotar, a hospital porter, said: ‘Suddenly it started to shake and I panicked.

Windows shattered and plasterwork fell from walls as the 7.7 magnitude earthquake was followed by two aftershocks

People were filmed running through the street and screaming as authorities warned of possible tsunamis

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A small fishing village on the coastline of Flores, the Indonesian island near to where a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit overnight (file pic)

‘Patients also fled the hospital, the jolt was big. I saw some walls were cracked.’

A hospital near Ende was filmed moving its patients outside by local media, though it is unclear whether this was in the same place Mr Lotar described.

Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka, which lies within East Nusa Tenggara province, said strong shaking had damaged buildings as people ran to higher ground.

‘Many buildings here were damaged. I saw that the waiting room at the Pelni port terminal in Maumere had collapsed,’ she said.

A spokesman for the country’s national disaster mitigation agency said the quake struck strongly for around one minute in regions such as Nagekeo and Bima.

Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BKMG) said it was possible a tsunami could follow the quake.

‘Tsunami modelling results indicate that this earthquake has the potential to generate a tsunami in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara,’ the agency said.

It warned residents of waves from 0.5m to 3m high as residents in Maumere evacuated to higher ground.

According to witnesses the sea around the island has washed out, a common sign of a coming tsunami. 

The Indonesian quake was of a higher magnitude than that which hit Colombia earlier this week.

That earthquake was a magnitude 7.4 and buried people across the country as buildings collapsed.

A pink sand beach on Flores, which lies in the country’s east (file pic)

The island is on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, named for its volcanoes and fault lines, including the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano which erupted in June last year

At least 111 were killed in Colombia and 87 were injured as the country declared a state of emergency and a race to find survivors began.

Also on the so-called Ring of Fire, the Colombian quake was felt as far away as Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.

Indonesia has a history of deadly earthquakes, including the 2004 Boxing Day quake, a 9.1 magnitude event that struck off the coast of Sumatra.

One of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded, it killed 170,000 in Indonesia and a further 52,000 in the surrounding region.

In 2018 a powerful earthquake shook the island of Lombok and more tremors followed during the following weeks, killing more than 550 people on the holiday island and neighbouring Sumbawa.

Later that year, a 7.5 magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.

Flores has also seen recent volcanic activity after the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupted last year, spewing ash high into the air.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler birdied the first five holes and shot a 9-under 61 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

The top-ranked Scheffler had 11 birdies and two bogeys in 100-degree heat at TPC Southwind in the playoff opener. He had an 11-under 129 total.

Scheffler tied the tournament course record. He has played the TPC Southwind more times (seven) without winning than any other course on the PGA Tour.

Viktor Hovland and Sungjae Im were tied for second at 8 under. Hovland had a 64, and Im shot his second 66.

Ludvig Aberg was 7 under after a 65.

Jordan Spieth shot 69 to get to 6 under. He was part of a four-way tie for the first-round lead. Spieth is outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup who advance to the BMW Championship next week.

Scheffler entered the week with a 794-point lead over Matt Fitzpatrick in the FedExCup standings. Fitzpatrick was 3 under after a 67.

So much emphasis is on getting into the top 50 because that locks up all the $20 million signature events for next season.

Rory McIlroy played alongside Scheffler the first two days. He followed an opening 74 with a 70, leaving him tied for 60th at 4 over.

___

See AP’s full golf coverage here

A strong earthquake measuring magnitude 7.7 hit off the Indonesian coast early Saturday, prompting a tsunami alert. Authorities have received no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the tremor struck the Flores area at 5:58 a.m. local time at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. The epicenter was located roughly 68 kilometers (42 miles) north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The initial quake was followed by several aftershocks.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning for part of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces, and urged residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks. The agency located the shallow undersea quake near Flores island. Residents along affected coastlines were advised to move to higher ground as officials were closely monitoring coastal tide gauges for any changes.

The quake was felt across much of Flores Island. Initial reports indicated there was damage to homes and public facilities, though officials had not yet released estimates of the number of damaged buildings or any casualties.

Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka, a regency within East Nusa Tenggara province, said a number of buildings were damaged by the strong shaking and panicked people ran to higher ground.

“Many buildings here were damaged … I saw that the waiting room at the Pelni port terminal in Maumere had collapsed,” she said.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In December of 1992, a magnitude 7 earthquake caused a tsunami that killed about 2,500 people on the southeastern island of Flores, part of a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia.

Addressing potential broader impacts, Australia’s tsunami warning center stated the undersea tremor presents “no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories”.

The Old Mill, Knitsley, near Consett, has been taken over by an ‘experienced local operator.’

The restaurant and pub announced the reopening on Facebook last night (Thursday, August 13).

The post said: “We’re delighted to announce that Knitsley Mill will be opening soon under new ownership and the direction of an experienced local operator.

“The refurbishment is now underway, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to give this beautiful venue a fresh new look while retaining all of its traditional character and charm.

“With years of experience behind the new venture, you can expect great food, excellent service and a warm, welcoming atmosphere for the whole community.

“We can’t wait to welcome you through the doors and reveal everything we have planned.”

An official opening date has not yet been announced.

The community has been quick to show their support.

One person said: “Cannot wait, going to be our new local.”

The site also offers six guest bedrooms that can be used for accommodation.

The Old Mill’s lease was listed earlier this year and closed its doors in April.

After a week of only partially intended revelations about The Elder Scrolls 6, a reader is upset at the haphazard way the game is being unveiled.

We’ve been waiting so long for news about The Elder Scrolls 6 and when it finally came it’s hard to think of how they could have messed it up worse. This was Xbox’s big plan, as I understand it. Xbox boss Asha Sharma, who has openly admitted she knows very little about video games, went to visit Bethesda, who had planted 800 red flags in their law, and an inflatable rat, to protest the number of people that have been laid off at the company.

I don’t know what a person like Sharma thinks when she sees something like that. I don’t know if a corpo mind like hers is capable of empathy or regret, but she didn’t mention any of that publicly, even though her being there only amplified the bad publicity from it all, once everyone found out about it.

So then she gets a ‘live playthrough’ (presumably someone playing the game at her) of The Elder Scrolls 6 and she says: ‘The scale and grandeur are incredible. The story is even greater.’ Plus, she seemed to reveal the name of the game has eight letters in it, which made everyone think the previous rumour about it being called Sentinel is true.

We all know that making announcements in the most boring way possible has become a bit of a trend lately. I don’t know why, maybe they’re trying to save money on marketing, but what should have been a massive reveal of the name was, as usual, just a couple of tweets from people I’ve never heard of.

A former Bethesda dev confirmed the name was Sentinel and someone posted a graphic that showed that there’d been a hint to the name in Starfield. So why pay for a trailer to be made when you can have some guy on X just go, ‘Yes’ when someone asks if the game’s called Sentinel.

The thing is, the name in The Elder Scrolls is very important, because it’s always of a place and that gives you a very clear idea of what the game’s going to be like, because it’s all set in the same fictional world that’s been around for decades.

Sentinel is an area in Hammerfell, where the rumours have always said the game is based, so we know we’re getting deserts and sea pirates, and a vaguely Middle Eastern look and feel to everything. That sounds great, but why did I have to learn that through a tweet (that could still be wrong, but probably isn’t) and a bunch of rumours?

Then let’s look at what Asha Sharma wrote. How long do you think she watched the game for? Half an hour or so? So how did she know the story was good? What does she know about the scale of open world games? It’s not a knock on her, I don’t think she’s done anything particularly wrong so far, apart from laying off thousands of people – but it’s obvious that was going to happen with or without her.

But I’d bet a lot of money that she just hung around for 20 minutes, listened to what some lackey told her about the game – including that it had a great story – and went home. It never occurred to her (or apparently anyone around her, because I doubt she actually wrote that tweet herself) that it would seem unlikely that anyone would get a good grasp on the story in such a short time.

Bethesda games aren’t exactly known for their dense plots. The story is usually just about the least interesting part of the game, which is all about exploration and discovery on your own terms, but I’m sure she doesn’t know that either.

So the game I’ve been looking forward to for over 10 years is finally revealed and in the worst way possible, with no trailer, no big event, and no one actually involved in making it to talk about it. I couldn’t be less hyped and the worst thing is I bet the real reason Sharma was there was to tell Bethesda to get a move on and get the game out ASAP or she’ll lay off more people. Which is definitely the sort of motivation you need to help improve the quality…

By reader Taylor Moon

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

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