Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least
20 and toppling buildings
[August 15, 2026]
By YACOB HERIN
MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off
the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 20 people,
collapsing buildings and homes as well as causing panic in a region
prone to deadly quakes. Authorities said six people were injured, and
two others were missing after a landslide triggered by the quake.
Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move
to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s
Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said monitoring showed no
significant sea-level changes that would pose a threat to coastal
communities.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit Indonesia's Flores region
with a depth of 10 kilometers at 5:58 a.m. local time. Its epicenter was
68 km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa
Tenggara province. The initial quake was followed by several
aftershocks.
The head of the Maumere Search and Rescue Agency, Fathur Rahman, said
rescuers have recovered at least 20 bodies in the three devastated
regencies of Sikka, West Manggarai, and East Manggarai, including eight
bodies that were pulled from a landslide in the village of Reok in
Manggarai. Six people were rushed to nearby hospitals with severe
injuries.
He said rescuers were still searching for two villagers believed to be
buried under tons of mud that tumbled down from the surrounding hills in
a landslide triggered by the quake.
East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko said the earthquake caused
severe damage and collapsed buildings. He said power outages in cities
and villages have hampered the flow of information and complicated
search and rescue efforts.
“We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but
there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said. He said that
landslides in Ende regency triggered by the earthquake also cut off the
Trans-Flores highway, a roughly 700-kilometer (435-mile) paved mountain
road spanning Flores Island, from Labuan Bajo to Larantuka.
Footage on local television showed patients at several hospitals being
evacuated from buildings as a precaution following the quake. Hospital
staff moved equipment outdoors, including beds, IV stands and oxygen
cylinders, and set up temporary treatment areas to adapt to emergency
conditions.
The National Disaster Management Agency deployed a helicopter to assist
with logistics and support emergency response operations, including
possible evacuations if needed, the agency said in a statement.
The air support is considered crucial given East Nusa Tenggara’s
geography, which consists of numerous islands and presents significant
transportation and access challenges.
It said about 2,000 villagers in Nagekeo regency fled their homes to
temporary shelters.
Quake felt on Flores island and other areas
The quake was felt across much of Flores island with initial reports
indicating heavy damage.
Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka regency, said a number of buildings
were damaged by the strong shaking and panicked people ran to higher
ground.
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People evacuate to higher ground following an earthquake in East
Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug.
15, 2026. (AP Photo/Muhammad Nur)
“Many buildings here were damaged ... I saw that the waiting room at
the port terminal in Maumere had collapsed,” she said.
Students at St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka who were attending
morning Mass fled in panic when the roof of an assembly hall
collapsed, said the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary,
which is known locally as Ritapiret Seminary on the predominantly
Catholic island of Flores.
“Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof,”
Tanga said. “At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping
from the second floor of a building during the quake.”
The quake also reportedly caused panic in Labuan Bajo, a gateway
town to eastern Indonesia’s Komodo National Park, one of the
country’s best-known attractions. Damage was also reported in Bima,
a city in neighboring West Nusa Tenggara province, and in some parts
of southern Sulawesi island.
Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for parts
of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and
Southeast Sulawesi provinces, and urged residents to stay away from
beaches and riverbanks. The agency located the shallow undersea
quake near Flores island.
Indonesia prone to earthquakes
Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone
to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the
“Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific
Basin.
A powerful earthquake caused a tsunami in 1992 that killed about
2,500 people on Flores, part of a group of islands in the eastern
half of Indonesia.
In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 quake spawned a large localized tsunami
that wiped out coastal areas, while liquefaction caused by the
shaking turned entire neighborhoods into rivers of sludge in the
eastern Indonesian city of Palu, on the Palu-Koro Fault. The
disaster killed more than 4,400 people.
In 2010, a 10-foot (three-meter) wave struck the Mentawai Islands,
off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, just minutes after a
massive offshore earthquake. More than 400 people were killed and
hundreds of homes were destroyed.
In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in
western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in
a dozen countries.
___
Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta,
Indonesia, contributed to this report.
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