Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake Kills at Least 53 in Indonesia

A devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck eastern Indonesia on Sunday, killing at least 53 people, the disaster mitigation agency said. The quake triggered landslides and blocked roads across the southernmost province of East Nusa Tenggara, including the Sikka and Manggarai regions, with around 5,000 people evacuated.

Rescuers continued searching collapsed buildings for survivors on Monday, Independence Day. Fathur Rahman, head of the rescue office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka, said the search would focus on aerial surveillance to locate any missing persons. He added that rescuers would use extraction equipment and a helicopter, and that there were no reports of missing people or challenges hindering the search.

Aftershocks Hinder Recovery

The geophysics agency recorded nearly 1,600 aftershocks in the province by Monday, including a magnitude 5.6 quake in the Nagekeo region, near the original epicenter, which struck Monday morning. Many evacuees have taken shelter in tents outdoors, afraid to return to their homes. According to preliminary data from Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, more than 1,000 houses were damaged, and dozens of health facilities, schools, and local government buildings were affected. Authorities warn that the full scale of the disaster is not yet known because some areas remain inaccessible.

Firmus Woge, a 64-year-old farmer, was being treated for asthma in the parking lot of a damaged health center in a village near the affected Ende region. "I felt better last night and this morning but it's getting worse again after this morning's quake," he said, gasping for breath. Villagers near the sea fled to higher ground fearing a tsunami, carrying clothes and mattresses.

Aid and Medical Care

Disaster mitigation agency chief Suharyanto said authorities had prepared aircraft to deliver aid such as food and tents, and that the quake had damaged around 500 houses. Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus announced the construction of an emergency field hospital in several areas, highlighting the need for neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons to treat head injuries and broken bones.

Patients were treated in makeshift tents outside the Ben Mboi Manggarai regional hospital in Ruteng, in the Manggarai region, according to photos by Reuters photographers Willy Kurniawan and Edgar Sua. Rista Mari, a public relations officer at Ruteng Regional General Hospital in Manggarai district, told the BBC that the announced medical assistance had not yet arrived. She stressed that hospital staff expect it as soon as possible because the number of patients is rising and existing treatment capabilities are increasingly limited.

Landslides have cut off key access roads, preventing trucks carrying food, water, and medicine from reaching all settlements. Local supplies in some parts of the island are nearly exhausted. Residents fear that a prolonged disruption in deliveries could lead to hunger, dehydration, and the spread of infectious diseases, with children and the elderly most at risk.

Independence Day in the Shadow of Tragedy

In Jakarta, about 1,500 km west of the disaster zone, President Prabowo Subianto was scheduled to preside over celebrations marking Indonesia's independence from Japanese rule in 1945 on Monday. However, for many affected by the earthquake, the celebration is far from their minds.

Gervas, a 42-year-old resident, when asked about the Independence Day celebration, said: "I don't think about that anymore ... I just think about the safety of my wife and 4-year-old twins."

This is Indonesia's deadliest earthquake since 2022, when a quake in West Java killed hundreds. The death toll from the latest quake varies among sources: Channel News Asia reports at least 53, while Reuters reports at least 51. The quake struck on Saturday just before 6 a.m. local time, with its epicenter at a depth of only 15 kilometers, making the shaking and destruction particularly intense.