Indonesia earthquake death toll rises to 53 as rescuers search landslide-hit areas of Flores Island
Rescue teams in eastern Indonesia recovered six additional bodies Sunday, raising the death toll from Saturday’s magnitude 7.7 earthquake to 53 as crews continued searching for people trapped beneath landslides and rubble on Flores Island.
The earthquake triggered landslides across six regencies, with rescue operations concentrated in Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo, where access remained difficult. Crews have cleared many blocked roads and reached villages that had been isolated, but power outages and damaged communications continued to complicate the search.
More than 900 homes were destroyed and another 450 damaged across East Nusa Tenggara province, forcing roughly 5,000 people into temporary shelters. At least 241 homes were damaged in the Flores region.
The earthquake struck shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday at a depth of about 10 kilometers. Residents fled their homes in panic after tsunami warnings were issued, though the warnings were later lifted.
Authorities have recorded at least 995 aftershocks since the earthquake, with 46 strong enough to be felt by residents. At least 135 people were injured.
In Labuan Bajo, a popular gateway to Komodo National Park, many residents spent the night outdoors because they feared additional shaking could cause damaged buildings to collapse.
Anastasia Imad, a farmer whose home was damaged, said the initial earthquake was so powerful that she feared the structure would collapse. She and others remained in a makeshift shelter outside their homes to avoid being trapped during an aftershock.
Landslides also blocked portions of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometer route connecting communities throughout the mountainous island.
Relief teams have begun distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine while emergency shelters are being established for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications and reaching remote communities cut off by landslides are among the biggest challenges.
Indonesia is highly vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because it sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region marked by extensive seismic and volcanic activity.
Flores has experienced several devastating natural disasters. A powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1992 killed about 2,500 people on the island. In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people. A magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in 2004 generated a massive tsunami that killed about 230,000 people across a dozen countries.
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