Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Strikes Indonesia Killing at Least Two
- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores island on Friday, leaving at least two people dead and multiple others injured.
- The Maumere Search and Rescue Agency confirmed the two deaths and two additional injuries as the quake tore through the region.
- Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof.
Fatal Tremor Strikes Flores Island
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores island on Friday, leaving at least two people dead and multiple others injured. The United States Geological Survey placed the epicenter of the shallow undersea quake 68 kilometers north-northwest of Ende, in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Structural Collapse and Local Panic
The Maumere Search and Rescue Agency confirmed the two deaths and two additional injuries as the quake tore through the region. Across Flores island, the impact was immediate; Indonesia’s disaster management agency reported widespread structural damage, including the total collapse of several buildings.
Villagers fled toward higher ground as the shaking turned violent. In Sikka, the waiting room at the Pelni port terminal in Maumere crumbled. At the St. Peter Major Seminary, known locally as Ritapiret Seminary, the roof of an assembly hall gave way while students were attending morning Mass.
Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof. At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake. — The Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary
Local television footage captured the desperate aftermath, showing hospital staff evacuating patients. To maintain care, medical personnel moved beds, IV stands, and oxygen cylinders outdoors to establish makeshift treatment wards.
Tsunami Alerts and Regional Caution
Indonesian authorities issued a temporary tsunami warning covering East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi. Officials ordered residents to abandon beaches and riverbanks for elevated terrain as two aftershocks rattled the area. Meanwhile, the Australian tsunami warning center confirmed the undersea quake posed no threat to the Australian mainland, islands, or territories.
A History of Seismic Vulnerability
Indonesia’s geography places it directly on the “Ring of Fire,” a volatile arc of volcanoes and fault lines within the Pacific Basin. The island of Flores is no stranger to such tragedies; in December 1992, a magnitude 7 earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed approximately 2,500 people.
This latest disaster arrives during a week of global seismic unrest. On Monday, a 7.4-magnitude quake struck Colombia. These events follow a series of earthquakes in Venezuela this past June which, according to government figures cited by NBC News, resulted in more than 6,000 deaths.
