Thousands on the Indonesian island of Flores are awaiting relief as the nation observes its 81st Independence Day. A powerful earthquake recently struck, causing significant destruction. At least 68 people lost their lives, over 200 sustained injuries, and thousands of homes were damaged.
Residents of Flores, situated in East Nusa Tenggara province, spent the day mourning as military teams attempted to deliver essential supplies like food, clean water, and clothing to communities isolated by the earthquake’s impact.
The earthquake that struck on Saturday morning resulted in widespread damage, with collapsed buildings crushing parked cars, homes destroyed, and roads blocked by fallen trees and rocks.
My house is now just rubble,
lamented Rasyid Jafar, a clothing vendor in Reo village, the most affected area in the Manggarai district. We urgently need food, medicine, and clean water.
During the Indonesian Independence Day ceremony in Jakarta, President Prabowo Subianto urged attendees to pray for those affected by disasters in East Nusa Tenggara and other parts of the nation. He led a moment of silence honoring the country’s independence heroes.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), more than 4,500 homes were damaged in Flores when the earthquake hit early Saturday, forcing about 19,000 people to take shelter in temporary accommodations and injuring 213 individuals. The disaster also impacted 122 health facilities, 252 schools, and 84 places of worship.
The province’s governor declared a 14-day state of emergency on Sunday. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers, shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday, as per the U.S. Geological Survey. Panic unfolded as tsunami warnings were issued but later lifted. Since then, authorities have recorded 1,576 aftershocks, though only 54 were felt by residents.
Many residents camped out near their collapsed homes under tarp shelters, sleeping outdoors due to fears of more aftershocks. For many, the disaster rekindled painful memories of the 1992 earthquake and tsunami in Flores which claimed around 2,500 lives.
As thousands of survivors still need food, shelter, and medical care, the government has deployed over 1,800 military and police personnel across the disaster zone, equipped with 10 aircraft and several vessels. They are tasked with distributing more than 100 metric tons of emergency aid.
Almost 5,400 food packages, two field hospital tents, medicines, and clothing are being distributed around the disaster zone. However, logistical challenges have slowed deliveries to some severely affected communities, according to Abdul Muhari, BNPB’s deputy chief, in a video statement.
Authorities set up two emergency field hospitals in Ruteng, the hardest-hit locality, to treat earthquake victims due to damage sustained by local hospitals. Two crisis management teams are overseeing an emergency health operation center, Muhari noted. He added that rescue teams continue to search for victims in affected areas, though no residents have reported any missing family members.
Rescue workers reached the small island of Palue, one of the nearest zones to the earthquake’s epicenter, late Sunday after a strenuous journey over land and sea through landslide-affected terrain. Thousands of residents still urgently require assistance.
The Sikka district’s deputy police chief, Marselus Yugo Amboro, mentioned that the roads were steep and many blocked by landslides, describing the trip as nearly fatal. Initial assessments revealed extensive damage with one villager dead, two seriously injured, and almost 150 homes destroyed.
Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands, frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire,’ a horseshoe-shaped ring of seismic faults and volcanoes.
In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami in Sulawesi island resulting in over 4,400 deaths. In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people in several countries, with nearly 170,000 deaths in Aceh province alone.
Karmini reported from Jakarta. Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan, Dita Alangkara, and Andi Jatmiko in Jakarta, Indonesia contributed to this report.