Powerful 7.7-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Indonesia’s Flores Island, Triggering Tsunami Warnings

JAKARTA — A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia's Flores Island early Saturday morning, sending violent tremors through the region, collapsing buildings, and prompting brief tsunami warnings that sent coastal residents rushing to higher ground.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the shallow earthquake hit at 5:58 a.m. local time. Its epicenter was located roughly 68 kilometers (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in the East Nusa Tenggara province, at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

The high-magnitude tremor was quickly followed by a series of robust aftershocks within the first half-hour, registering at magnitudes of 5.9, 5.6, and 6.1.

Casualties and Structural Damage

Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) confirmed that at least two people—a man and a woman—were killed at the L Say Maumere port, with structural impacts and injuries reported across the hardest-hit Maumere region.

Early local footage and reports broadcast across regional media showed substantial structural damage to port facilities and residential buildings, with walls buckling under the force of the shaking. USGS estimates indicate that over half a million people on Flores Island experienced very strong to severe shaking, with moderate tremors rippling across the wider archipelago.

Tsunami Alert and Evacuations

Immediately following the main shock, Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued an urgent tsunami warning for vulnerable coastlines in East Nusa Tenggara. Officials urged residents along both northern and southern shores to evacuate immediately, advising them to move inland or seek higher ground.

The tsunami advisory was subsequently lifted, though disaster management teams continue to monitor sea level changes and potential risks from lingering aftershocks. Neighboring Australia’s tsunami warning center confirmed that the offshore quake posed no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland or its territories.

Shattered Calm Along the Ring of Fire

Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago nation of over 270 million people, sits directly on the Pacific "Ring of Fire"—an active seismic belt where tectonic plates collide, making it one of the most earthquake-prone regions in the world. Saturday's quake stirred painful memories in the region; the same stretch of coastline was previously struck by a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami in December 1992.

Emergency response teams remain deployed across East Nusa Tenggara to clear debris, assess structural integrity, and account for residents in isolated coastal pockets.