JAKARTA/MAUMERE, Indonesia – Rescuers combed through debris for survivors on Aug 15 after a powerful earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 20 people and sending thousands fleeing.
As the full scale of the disaster unfolded, rescue official Fathur Rahman told AFP at least 20 people were confirmed dead from four different towns on the island, which is popular with tourists.
“From the reports we have received, 20 people have died, six are injured, and two are still buried,” Fathur said by telephone from a boat on his way to Nagekeo regency, the hardest-hit area.
Two people were known to be trapped alive under rubble in the neighbouring Manggarai regency after the 7.7-magnitude jolt.
“Our focus will be on locating the victims who are buried under the rubble” said Fathur, adding that the rescue effort had been complicated by landslides cutting off several roads.
The epicentre of the shallow quake was located off the north coast of Flores island, about 68km north-west of the coastal town of Ende, US and Indonesian authorities said.
Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG recorded the first quake at 4.58am local time at a depth of 15km. The jolt was followed by strong aftershocks in the same area, including one with a magnitude of 6.1.
Rescuers pull one dead body from the rubble of a building that partly collapsed at the port of Maumere.
Fathur said two people were evacuated alive from the debris and “one was found deceased”, according to video footage released by the agency.
The full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong. We were resting at home with family,” said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara. “There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves.”