7.7 magnitude earthquake leaves at least 38 dead in Indonesia; tsunami warning issued

An earthquake of 7.7 magnitude struck the Flores Island in eastern Indonesia on Saturday, triggering a tsunami warning and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, said authorities. The powerful quake left at least 38 people dead, with authorities fearing that the count could rise.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the around 5.58 am local time at a depth of 10 km. The epicenter was 68 km north-northwest of the city of Ende in the East Nusa Tenggara province.

"Thirty-eight people have been confirmed dead, two were seriously injured, 11 sustained minor injuries, and approximately 2,000 people have evacuated on their own," National Disaster Mitigation Agency (NDMA) chief Suharyanto said at a press conference.

The earthquake forced the Indonesian authorities to issue a tsunami alert, warning that the waves could range from 0.5 metres to three metres (1.6 to 9.8 feet). According to AFP, residents in the Maumere town on the Flores Island were also evacuated to a higher ground.

Authorities have also said that tsunami waves between 19 and 30 centimetres have been detected in the region.

"Tsunami modelling results indicate that this earthquake has the potential to generate a tsunami in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara," Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) earthquake and tsunami director Wijayanto said.

The earthquake has triggered panic among the locals after it left 38 people dead. Multiple photos and videos have also gone viral on social media that showed damaged buildings. Footage showing the sea receding along Indonesia's coastline are also going viral.

Some of the social media accounts claimed that some buildings collapsed after the earthquake; however, the claims could not be verified independently by Digital.

"Suddenly it started to shake and I panicked," 31-year-old hospital customer service official, Lukas Lotar, told AFP. "Patients also fled the hospital, the jolt was big. I saw some walls were cracked."

Frequent earthquakes are very common in Indonesia and neighbouring countries because they are located in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. The area is extremely prone to seismic activity.

The deadliest earthquake in Indonesia since 2000 was felt in 2004 when a 9.1-magnitude tremor struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 across the region.