Search for Survivors Continues After 7.7-Magnitude Earthquake Kills Dozens in Indonesia
Rescue crews in Indonesia were digging through collapsed buildings on Sunday as the search continued for survivors of a powerful earthquake that hit the island of Flores early Saturday, killing at least 53 people.
The 7.7-magnitude quake damaged more than 1,300 homes, more than two-thirds of them severely, along with health facilities, schools and government offices, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, BNPB, said Sunday, according to Reuters. Scores of people were injured and thousands displaced, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said during a televised meeting.
The epicenter was about 68 kilometers (42 miles) northwest of Ende, off the coast of Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province. The quake struck at about 6 a.m. local time, damaging buildings and sending residents fleeing their homes. Hundreds of aftershocks followed.
In the coastal village of Sikka, residents remained outside collapsed homes overnight. Others were treated at a hospital in the port town of Maumere.
Abdul Mutas, 63, and his family slept on a tarp surrounded by trees after fleeing as water levels rose. "The tides were rising, so we ran," he told Reuters. "I only brought my body."
"Almost all of Sikka's residents didn't dare stay indoors," Simon Subandi, the deputy regent of Sikka, told KompasTV.
Rescue teams resumed searching on Sunday in places that had been deemed inaccessible since the quake, the Associated Press reported. In Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency, search and rescue chief Fathur Rahman said crews had cleared most landslide debris and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, but that communication disruptions and power outages were still hampering their work.
"We have cleared most landslides and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, although communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts," Rahman said.
BNPB said 50,000 aid packages were on their way to the island. The agency has also deployed a helicopter and emergency response teams, noting that the area consists of many islands and access is difficult.
The death toll could rise as rescue teams reach isolated communities and communications are restored.
The quake and its aftershocks were felt across Flores, a lush and mountainous island in the Sunda island chain that also includes Bali. Flores is known for its colorful volcanic lakes and as a gateway to Komodo National Park, home to the world's largest lizards. Its population of about 2 million is spread across small villages.
Video circulating on social media showed buildings collapsing and panicked residents running and screaming as dust filled the sky. One video showed damage to a hospital in the village of Aeramo.
Hours after the first quake, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rattled northern Sumatra, followed by a magnitude 5.7 quake roughly 600 miles to the north, off the Minahasa Peninsula, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Theresia Uta, 52, told CNN she had just finished breakfast in the coastal town of Maumere when the first earthquake hit. She ran outside and held on to a tree in the yard for ten minutes until the shaking stopped.
"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," she said.
At the Roman Catholic St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, students were attending morning Mass when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, sending people fleeing in panic. The seminary rector, Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, told the Associated Press: "Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof. At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake."
A building is seen damaged following the earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, on August 15, 2026. (Kurniawan/AP)
A man examines the damage to a building following the earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, on August 15, 2026. (Kurniawan/AP)
About 2,000 residents of Nagekeo regency evacuated as a precaution, BNPB said. The agency said the island landscape makes access challenging.
Villagers flee their homes to seek safety following an earthquake in Talibura Village, Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, on August 15, 2026. (Arnold Welianto/AFP/Getty Images)
People evacuate to higher ground following the earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, on August 15, 2026. (Muhammad Nur/Getty Images)
The earthquake in Indonesia follows a series of deadly earthquakes in Latin America. In June, two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, killing thousands. Another earthquake that hit western Colombia on Monday has left at least 287 people dead.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, sits on the Ring of Fire, a band around the Pacific Ocean that sets off frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. The ring is one of the most seismically active areas in the world, spanning from Japan and Indonesia on one side of the Pacific to California and South America on the other.
Indonesia has suffered several devastating earthquakes in the past. The catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 was triggered by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra, and the resulting disaster killed more than 220,000 people along the ocean's coasts, more than half of them in Indonesia.
CNN's Kareem El Damanhoury, Teele Rebane, Brandon Miller, Dakota Smith, Michael Rios, Jonny Hallam and Laura Sharman contributed to this report.