Indonesia Earthquake Death Toll Reaches 47 as Search and Rescue Efforts Continue

August 15, Labuan Bajo – Rescue teams intensified their efforts on Sunday to locate people trapped under debris and landslides following a powerful earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia the previous day. The disaster has claimed at least 47 lives and injured over 100, with thousands displaced. According to the National Disaster Management Agency, 24 deaths were reported in Manggarai and 17 in East Manggarai. Human casualties were also reported in Sikka, Ngada, and Ende regions.

Rescuers are searching areas on Flores Island affected by landslides triggered by the quake. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.7, with its epicenter located 68 kilometers north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The quake originated approximately 10 kilometers beneath the ocean’s surface. It shook most parts of Flores Island, with tremors felt in neighboring areas of West Nusa Tenggara and South Sulawesi.

The disaster management agency reported over 900 homes were destroyed and approximately 450 suffered damage. Nearly 5,000 residents have been forced to take shelter in temporary accommodations. Fear of strong aftershocks led thousands more to spend the night outdoors. At least 167 public infrastructures—including schools, health centers, and churches—were damaged. Relief workers have commenced distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets, and medicines. Emergency shelters are also being constructed for the displaced population.

Officials identified restoring electricity and communication services and reaching remote villages cut off by landslides as major challenges. Labuan Bajo, known as the gateway to Komodo National Park, was also affected. Landslides have blocked several sections of the approximately 700-kilometer Trans-Flores Highway that connects various settlements across Flores.

Local farmer Anastasia Imad from Labuan Bajo described the earthquake’s tremors as intense and frightening. “We feared our homes would collapse on us during the aftershocks,” she said from a temporary shelter near her damaged residence. Rescue teams resumed their search operations on Sunday in hard-to-reach areas including Manggarai, East Manggarai, and Nagekeo. Fatur Rahman, head of the search and rescue office in Maumere, reported that most landslides have been cleared, restoring road access to some isolated villages. However, disruptions in communications and power are hindering the rescue efforts.

Indonesia, composed of over seventeen thousand islands, lies within the Pacific’s ‘Ring of Fire,’ a region with active volcanoes and fault lines, making the country highly susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic activity. In 1992, a powerful quake in the Flores area triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 2,500 people. In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake followed by a tsunami and liquefaction caused massive destruction in the city of Palu, resulting in over 4,400 deaths. In December 2004, a devastating 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra generated a tsunami that claimed around 230,000 lives across more than a dozen countries in the Indian Ocean region.