40 killed after Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia’s coast

MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 40 people, collapsing buildings and causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes.

Dozens of people were also injured.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake hit Indonesia’s Flores region at 5:58a.m. local time with a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles).

The epicenter of the tremor was 68 kilometres m (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.

The quake triggered landslides and generated small tsunami.

The meteorological agency said the quake was followed by 235 aftershocks by Saturday afternoon, with the largest up to magnitude 6.2.

Videos obtained by The Associated Press showed a coastal village blanketed in mud and debris after a 1.61-meter (5.3 feet) tsunami reached Ngada village in East Manggarai.

Fishing boats were stranded ashore, infrastructure damaged, and homes surrounded by sediment left by receding waters.

Police Chief for East Nusa Tenggara Rudi Darmoko said the earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings.

He said power outages in cities and villages have hampered information flow and complicated search and rescue efforts.

“We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said.

He said landslides in Ende regency triggered by the earthquake also cut off the Trans-Flores highway, a roughly 700-kilometer (435-mile) paved mountain road spanning Flores Island, from Labuan Bajo to Larantuka.

The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency Fathur Rahman said rescuers have so far recovered at least 40 bodies, mostly in the three devastated regencies of Sikka, Manggarai and East Manggarai.

Nearly 50 people were transported to hospitals.

Rahman signalled that the death toll could rise because landslides triggered by the earthquake have buried or cut off many remote villages across six regencies on Flores Island.

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