About 5,000 people have been evacuated after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia, killing at least 51 people, damaging more than 1,300 homes and triggering landslides that blocked roads.
The earthquake struck East Nusa Tenggara province on Saturday morning, leaving 36 people seriously injured and 77 with minor injuries, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said.
As aftershocks continued, residents in affected areas sought safety outside their homes. About 341 aftershocks followed the quake, while more than 3,300 people in Sikka either self-evacuated or sought shelter at a sports arena, according to the disaster mitigation agency BNPB.
In the town of Sikka, residents spent the night in tents and on porches, with some saying they feared returning indoors after the ground shook and tides began rising. In Maumere, some patients were treated in tents outside a hospital as landslides blocked access to parts of the town.
Rescuers have since reached areas cut off by the landslides, while authorities continue to assess the extent of the damage. BNPB said more than 1,300 homes had been damaged, although there was no immediate figure for those still missing.
The earthquake has also disrupted essential services, with 20 petrol stations unable to operate because of power outages, state energy company Pertamina said.
More than 3,500 military and police personnel have been deployed to the affected areas. The East Nusa Tenggara government is considering declaring a provincial emergency, which would allow authorities to mobilise additional resources and funding.
The quake has become Indonesia’s deadliest since a 2022 earthquake in West Java killed hundreds. Reuters reported that the affected area had previously been struck by a magnitude-7.5 earthquake in 1992, which caused extensive destruction.
Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and generate frequent seismic activity.
