38 dead after 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of Indonesia
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday killed at least 38 people, a disaster management official said, revising an earlier toll.
"Thirty-eight people have been confirmed dead, two were seriously injured, 11 sustained minor injuries, and approximately 2000 people have evacuated on their own," National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Suharyanto told a news conference.
Dozens of aftershocks struck off eastern Indonesia after the main quake.
Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre were recorded in several areas of the Southeast Asian nation after the early morning tremor. The tsunami warning was lifted about three hours after the quake.
Rescuers around the port town of Maumere found 20 dead, six injured and two trapped under the rubble, said Fathur Rahman, head of the city's rescue agency. Maumere is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in the east of Indonesia's vast archipelago.
Teams were yet to reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicentre, and communications signals there had been affected, Fathur told Reuters. Attempts to reach Nagekeo by car were blocked by landslides, while another team was attempting to go by ferry, he said.
About 2000 residents in Nagekeo evacuated, and damage was reported to a number of houses, warehouses and government facilities, national disaster mitigation agency BNPB said. Authorities also reported traffic congestion and power outages affecting parts of the regency, it said.
The governor of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, told a press conference at least five people died from collapsing rubble as they slept.
The BNPB, which put the quake's toll at one dead and four injured, said it was still gathering data.
"I have never felt an earthquake this big," Yulian Juita Ekalia, who lives in Ruteng city more than 100km west of the epicentre, told AFP by telephone.
"It felt like we were on a trampoline; it was really scary," said the 37-year-old university lecturer, who jolted awake at around 5:30am local time.
"As I rushed to get outside, everything in the house fell down: the television, my son's trophies, the dish racks, suitcases on top of the wardrobes. When I got outside, my son and neighbours were already there, screaming in fear."
Parts of a building collapsed into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran in the street, a video on Facebook, verified by Reuters as being at a port in Maumere, showed.
"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."
Strong shaking was felt across East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and parts of South Sulawesi, and residents in several areas reported shaking lasting about one minute, BNPB said in a statement.
"Most of the people felt the shock and scattered out of their homes," it said.
A hospital in the district of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara Province was moving patients outside, Kompas TV footage showed, and Kompas.com reported at least one landslide.
Indonesian geophysics agency BMKG recorded the first quake at 4:58am at a depth of 15 km, followed by several aftershocks.
In 1992 the same area was hit by a magnitude-7.5 quake, causing extensive destruction at that time, the agency said.
No threat to NZ
There was no tsunami threat to New Zealand or Australia following the quake.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was monitoring the situation and working with Indonesian authorities to assess the earthquake's impact, an MFAT spokesperson said.
There are 277 people from New Zealand registered on SafeTravel as being in Indonesia and 22 in Timor-Leste.
MFAT was not aware of any New Zealanders who had requested assistance, the spokesperson said.
New Zealanders who require urgent consular assistance can contact the 24/7 consular emergency line on +64 99 20 20 20 or 0800 30 10 30.
Those in the affected areas should follow the advice of local authorities at all times. New Zealanders should also register on SafeTravel and, when they are able, let their family and friends in NZ know that they are safe, MFAT said.
See how the day unfolded below:
- Reuters, AFP, with additional reporting by RNZ