A powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake has torn through eastern Indonesia, forcing around 5,000 people from their homes and leaving at least 53 dead, with roads blocked and hillsides collapsing in landslides, authorities said.
Officials added that more than 130 people were injured, many suffering broken bones.
The quake, which struck yesterday, was Indonesia’s deadliest since a 2022 earthquake killed hundreds in West Java.
In the Sikka region — among the areas hit hardest — more than 3,300 people either evacuated on their own or sought refuge in a sports arena, according to Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, BNPB.
Residents described a grim scene: some people remained stranded outside homes that had collapsed, sheltering beneath makeshift tarpaulin tents, while others received care in a tent set up outside the local hospital.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 290 million people, sits atop the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, where shifting tectonic plates regularly unleash earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Damaged buildings following the earthquake in Ruteng, Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara
Fear of aftershocks
At Maumere’s now-closed port, debris from a fallen roof and shattered walls covered the ground as residents said they were frightened of more tremors.
BNPB said nearly a thousand aftershocks had been recorded since the main quake.
Not far away, hundreds of people packed into a sports stadium that has been designated as an evacuation site.
As daylight faded, residents queued for warm drinks. Mothers clipped clothing to tent frames to create improvised cradles for babies, while other children kicked a soccer ball outside.
Lisda, 22, was among those choosing to stay under canvas with her twin babies, saying fear of sleeping inside her house drove her decision.
In another tent, 67-year-old Yuvienta Saen described the moment the quake hit during her morning prayer, leaving her to choose between helping her paralysed husband and saving herself.
“He told me, you run, I’m handing my fate to God,” she said, adding that the tent shelter lacked clean water and blankets.
Hundreds of aftershocks followed the earthquake
Indonesia’s geophysics agency said the same area was struck in 1992 by a magnitude-7.5 earthquake that caused widespread destruction.
Margaretha Movaldes Da Maga Bapa, who heads the region’s disaster mitigation agency, said the latest disaster had revived painful memories.
“We’ve had quakes often. But this one really brings back the trauma of the one from 1992,” she said, pointing to the trucks delivering aid and the tents being erected.
Suryaman, a rescue agency official, said teams were focusing on clearing rubble in the worst-hit areas of Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo in case people were still trapped beneath debris.
He said the agency had not received any missing person reports, but warned that landslides and ongoing aftershocks were slowing the search.
More than 3,500 military and police personnel have been deployed to the region, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement.
State utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara said electricity was almost fully restored, though crews were still working to repair distribution lines.
BNPB said the East Nusa Tenggara government has declared an emergency for the province, a step that allows officials to mobilise resources and funding.
