Rescuers search for survivors of powerful Indonesia earthquake

Rescue teams in Indonesia have been searching for survivors of Saturday’s major earthquake which left at least 47 people dead.

The magnitude 7.7 quake struck the island of Flores shortly before 05:00 (22:00 GMT on Friday) and had a depth of 15km, Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency stated.

Preliminary reports indicate hundreds of buildings have been severely damaged by the quake and the dozens of aftershocks that followed.

However, the full scale of the disaster is still unclear, and news of a second earthquake of magnitude 6.9 at the other end of Indonesia served as a reminder of why they call this region the ring of fire.

Tremors from Saturday’s powerful earthquake were reportedly felt by residents as far west as Bima Regency and City, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) agency said, but the Manggarai province is among the most affected.

Preliminary data shows that 24 fatalities had been recorded there, meanwhile 17 deaths were recorded in East Manggarai province, three in Sikka province, and at least one in each of the Ngada, Ende and West Manggarai provinces.

At least two others had been seriously injured and 11 slightly injured.

The BNPB said aid was being sent to the affected areas with 10,500 packages arriving at the base operations so far.

It will take time to assess the full extent of the destruction in the region, which is remote and mountainous.

However, early reports indicate more than 150 houses had been severely damaged, as well as dozens of educational institutions, a number of healthcare facilities, places of worship, offices, and several other public facilities.

Video taken at the port in Maumere – the largest town in Flores – showed large chunks of concrete breaking off the terminal building onto passengers waiting to board an inter-island ferry. Some were thrown into the sea when the gangway to a ship collapsed.

Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, told a news conference that they were killed in their sleep by collapsing rubble.

Others, like Arnold Welianto, who lives in Talibura, a village near the coastline in Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara, were shaken out of their beds.

“I was startled awake and immediately went to my child’s room.” He said.

He also told the BBC that many people had already fled into the hills because the sea had also receded.

While a tsunami warning was initially issued – leading some 2,000 people to self-evacuate – it was lifted around three hours after the initial jolt, when no significant sea level rise was detected.

Landslides, however, did block access to some villages but the experienced rescue teams worked tirelessly through the day to free those trapped under the rubble.

In Ruteng, a temporary medical tent was also assembled outside of a hospital to treat earthquake victims.

The ongoing advice from BNPB is for people to remain calm and to stay away from coastal areas and structures showing signs of damage.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity, lying along the meeting point of three major tectonic plates.