At least 47 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores island, with rescuers still searching damaged communities as thousands remain in evacuation shelters.
Rescue teams in Indonesia are searching through damaged buildings for survivors after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake ripped through the island of Flores, just before 5 AM on Saturday. It was shallow, sitting only 15 kilometers underground, which meant the shaking on the surface was brutal.
Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, the governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, told reporters a harsh reality: many people were simply killed in their sleep by collapsing roofs. At least 47 people are dead so far.
For those who woke up, it was pure panic. Arnold Welianto lives in a coastal village called Talibura. When the jolt hit, he didn’t grab his phone or his shoes.
“I was startled awake and immediately went to my child’s room,” he said.
Then he looked outside. The sea was pulling back, retreating from the shore. That is the universal signal for a tsunami. People didn’t wait for official warnings. Thousands just ran for the hills. The tsunami warning was eventually lifted three hours later when the water didn’t rise, but the fear didn’t just wash away.
The physical damage is heavy. Over 900 homes are severely damaged. In the port town of Maumere, massive chunks of concrete broke off the terminal ceiling, crashing down on people waiting for a ferry. A gangway collapsed, throwing passengers straight into the water.
SEE ALSO: 2 Dead as Massive 7.7 Earthquake Strikes Indonesia
Right now, the full scale of the disaster is still hidden. The region is highly mountainous, and landslides have blocked the few roads leading into the hardest-hit villages. More than 5,000 people are huddled in evacuation shelters.
“Meeting basic needs and providing logistics for evacuees has become one of the top priorities,” the National Disaster Management Agency said.
Indonesia sits right on the Ring of Fire, where massive tectonic plates grind against each other. The people here know how to survive the earth moving beneath their feet. But as night falls again over the mountains of Flores, families are sitting in temporary medical tents, listening to the dirt shift, just waiting to see if the ground will hold until morning.
