Thousands of individuals in Flores, Indonesia, were awaiting assistance on Monday following a deadly earthquake that claimed the lives of at least 68 people, left over 200 injured, and caused extensive damage to numerous buildings and homes. Residents in East Nusa Tenggara province’s Flores island were grieving for the victims and hoping for aid to reach areas cut off by the earthquake.
The aftermath of the quake featured collapsed buildings, homes in ruins, and roads obstructed by trees and boulders. Rasyid Jafar, a resident of Reo village, expressed the urgent need for food, medicine, and clean water as his home was reduced to rubble.
President Prabowo Subianto, during Indonesia’s Independence Day ceremony in Jakarta, called for prayers for those affected by disasters in East Nusa Tenggara and across the nation. The earthquake, which struck with a depth of 10 kilometers in East Nusa Tenggara province early Saturday morning, resulted in significant damage to over 4,500 homes, displacing 19,000 individuals and injuring 213, according to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB). Additionally, 122 health facilities, 252 schools, and 84 places of worship were damaged.
Over 1,500 aftershocks have been recorded, with about 50 of them felt by local residents. The governor of the province declared a state of emergency lasting 14 days on Sunday.
In the hardest-hit areas, thousands of people in Flores camped outside their damaged homes, sleeping under makeshift tents due to the risk of aftershocks. The island displayed widespread devastation, with fallen trees, boulders, and collapsed structures. Rescue efforts have been supported by nearly 1,500 military and police personnel, along with air support to distribute aid to affected regions.
Aid workers successfully reached Palue Island, close to the earthquake’s epicenter, after a challenging journey through landslide-affected terrain. The archipelago of Indonesia, situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is susceptible to seismic activities due to its geological location.
Indonesia has a history of devastating natural disasters, including the 1992 earthquake and tsunami in Flores that claimed 2,500 lives, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami that killed around 230,000 people, and the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that resulted in over 4,400 casualties.