JAKARTA (AFP) - Around 5,000 people have been displaced by a powerful earthquake in Indonesia that has caused at least 53 fatalities.
Rescuers continue to search for survivors of the shallow magnitude 7.7 quake, which struck the island of Flores shortly before 05:00 local time on Saturday (22:00 GMT on Friday).
Preliminary reports indicate more than 900 homes and hundreds of other buildings have been severely damaged by the tremor and 341 subsequent aftershocks, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said.
The full scale of the disaster is still being uncovered, with news of a second magnitude 6.9 earthquake elsewhere in Indonesia serving as a reminder of why this region is called the ring of fire.
The initial earthquake, which occurred just 15km below the surface, was the south-east Asian nation’s deadliest since 2022, when hundreds of people were killed in West Java.
Tremors were reportedly felt by residents as far west as Bima, the BNPB said, but the Manggarai province was among the most affected.
Abdul Muhari, deputy for the BNPB, confirmed 25 deaths had been recorded there, as well as 20 fatalities in East Manggarai province, four in Sikka province, two in Ende and at least one person in both the Nagekeo and West Manggarai provinces.
A total of 3,356 people had been displaced in Sikka, with a further 2,078 evacuated in Manggarai, the agency said.
Thirty-six people were seriously injured in East Nusa Tenggara province, while 77 suffered minor injuries, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said.
It will take time to assess the full extent of the destruction in the region, which is remote and mountainous.
However, early reports indicate that, in addition to damaged homes, dozens of schools, healthcare facilities and government offices had also been severely damaged.
While a tsunami warning was initially issued - leading some 2,000 people to self-evacuate - it was lifted around three hours after the initial jolt, when no significant sea level rise was detected.