At least fourteen people have died after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Flores early Saturday. The tremor, which occurred at a depth of 15km shortly before 05:00 local time, caused significant structural damage and triggered dozens of aftershocks, including one measuring 6.1 in magnitude.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena stated that several victims were killed by collapsing rubble while they slept. While a tsunami warning was issued following the initial quake, authorities lifted the alert approximately three hours later after residents had already begun evacuating coastal areas.
Search and rescue operations remain ongoing as teams work to reach those trapped in damaged buildings. The national disaster mitigation agency has cautioned that casualty figures are preliminary and urged residents to avoid structures that sustained damage due to the risk of further aftershocks.
