At least 48 people are dead and hundreds of structures destroyed after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores Island early Saturday, triggering tsunami waves and sending residents fleeing in panic.
The quake hit at 5:58 am local time with its epicenter in the sea north of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara province, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Tsunami waves of less than 1 meter (3 feet) were recorded in several areas of the country. The warning was lifted around three hours after the initial tremor.
Search and rescue operations continue with dozens of people still missing or feared trapped in the rubble. Residents describe the fear and panic as the quake struck. “Although I have experienced several earthquakes on Flores island before, this was by far the strongest and longest earthquake I have ever experienced. The shaking was extremely powerful and violent,” a local resident told CNN.
The USGS estimates that more than half a million people on Flores Island, in eastern Indonesia, are likely to have experienced very strong shaking, with moderate to strong shaking felt by several million more people across the country.
More than 300 houses were destroyed or damaged, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency —100 public facilities, including 87 educational facilities, 18 health facilities, 6 offices and 5 places of worship.
Rescue teams have yet to reach the Nagekeo regency, where the quake caused landslides that have blocked roads and disrupted communications. Aftershocks continue to rock the region, hampering rescue and recovery efforts, with a magnitude 6.9 recorded thousands of miles away on Sumatra Island.
On average, about 15 to 18 earthquakes of a magnitude of 7-7.9 strike globally. This year 11 have been recorded, but scientists say the pace is on track and the number is not unusually high.
2026 Earthquakes Above Magnitude 7
- February 22: Magnitude 7.1 – Sabah, Malaysia
- March 24: Magnitude 7.5 – Vava'u, Tonga
- March 30: Magnitude 7.3 – Sanma, Vanuatu
- April 1: Magnitude 7.4 – North Maluku, Indonesia
- April 20: Magnitude 7.4 – Iwate, Japan
- June 7: Magnitude 7.8 – Mindanao, Philippines
- June 24: Magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 – Yaracuy/La Guaira, Venezuela
- July 17: Magnitude 7.3 – Chiapas, Mexico
- August 10: Magnitude 7.4 – Chocó, Colombia
- August 14: Magnitude 7.7 – East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
Communities across Flores have begun the long and determined process of recovery, rebuilding stronger homes and supporting one another. Calls for enforcing stricter building codes are increasing as the full scale of destruction from the recent earthquake reveals how many structures failed under the intense shaking.
