Two Strong Earthquakes Hit Indonesia Hours Apart
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Indonesia's Flores region at 5:58 a.m. local time on Saturday, centred about 68 kilometres north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The national disaster agency reported 38 confirmed deaths, two serious injuries, eleven minor injuries and around 2,000 people who evacuated on their own. A tsunami alert was initially issued for coastal areas and later withdrawn after no dangerous sea-level changes were detected.
Hours later, a separate 6.9-magnitude quake occurred near Pematangsiantar, about 126 kilometres southeast of Medan in North Sumatra, at a depth of 183 kilometres. Authorities did not issue a tsunami alert for that event. The second tremor did not add to the reported casualty count in the earliest information available.
The first quake caused extensive structural damage, triggered landslides and brought down buildings, according to East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko. Landslides blocked the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometre mountain road connecting Labuan Bajo and Larantuka, while power failures disrupted communications across cities and villages and slowed rescue work.
Emergency teams are still searching for two villagers feared trapped under mud after an earthquake-triggered landslide in the Maumere area, and the national disaster agency has sent a helicopter to support relief and evacuation logistics in the island province.
Why Relief Efforts Are Facing a Road, Power and Communications Bottleneck
Why the Damage Report Is Likely to Grow
Verified figures put the confirmed toll at 38, but police chief Rudi Darmoko said authorities were still collecting damage reports amid communication disruptions. That is an explicit signal that the count is incomplete. The search for two villagers feared trapped by a landslide adds a second reason to expect the number to rise in the next reporting cycle.
The blocked Trans-Flores Highway matters because it is the main paved route across Flores Island, connecting Labuan Bajo in the west and Larantuka in the east. Until landslides are cleared, rescue teams and supplies face a much slower road network through difficult terrain.
What the Second 6.9 Quake Adds
The later tremor near Pematangsiantar is a separate seismic event on Sumatra, far from the first epicentre in East Nusa Tenggara. It occurred at a depth of 183 kilometres and no tsunami alert was issued. Deep earthquakes often cause less surface damage than shallow ones, but they can still be felt widely. The second event adds stress to already strained emergency coordination, but it does not change the immediate rescue picture unless new damage reports emerge.
Where Relief Capacity Is Being Stretched
The national agency's decision to deploy a helicopter is not a routine detail. East Nusa Tenggara is an island province where tough terrain and scattered settlements complicate ground transport. With the Trans-Flores Highway blocked and power and communications interrupted, aerial support becomes a critical way to move personnel and supplies.
Hospitals moving patients outside shows that facilities are treating structural safety as uncertain. Makeshift outdoor treatment areas may be needed if strong aftershocks continue. The closure of the main mountain route can also be expected to delay movement of goods and travellers across the island, though no official economic loss estimate is yet available.
Practical Steps for People in Flores and Travellers to the Region
For People in and Around Flores
- Treat the tsunami alert as withdrawn only as of the latest official update; aftershocks can still cause local hazards, and any new coastal warning should be followed immediately.
- Expect delays along the Trans-Flores Highway near Ende regency, where landslides are blocking the route; check official access updates before travelling between Labuan Bajo and Larantuka.
- Because power and communications outages are affecting cities and villages, share your safety status through SMS or satellite-based messaging when voice networks fail.
For Travellers and Organisations
- Confirm current access before arrival in East Nusa Tenggara; the main mountain road is blocked, and some hospital facilities are operating partially outdoors.
- If supporting relief, prioritise helicopter-coordinated logistics because ground transport is constrained; the national disaster agency already has one helicopter deployed.
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