JAKARTA — Search and rescue operations in eastern Indonesia faced compounding setbacks on Monday as a fresh 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck the disaster-battered Flores region, pushing the death toll from the ongoing seismic crisis to at least 53.
The shallow tremor, recorded early Monday morning at a depth of just 6 miles (10 kilometers), sent terrified residents back onto the streets just days after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake ripped through the same island group.
Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirmed that the rising fatalities are spread across six regencies in the East Nusa Tenggara province, with the hardest-hit areas concentrated in Manggarai and East Manggarai. More than 130 people have sustained injuries, many receiving treatment at makeshift medical facilities as hospitals grapple with damaged infrastructure and power outages.
Emergency crews have struggled to reach isolated pockets cut off by massive landslides that blocked vital arteries, including sections of the Trans-Flores highway. Heavy equipment and relief supplies are being airlifted by helicopters to support nearly 6,000 displaced residents currently sheltering in temporary camps.
Authorities report that nearly a thousand aftershocks have rattled the region since Saturday's initial catastrophe, keeping emergency response teams on high alert. The government has declared a 14-day emergency response status as rescue workers continue scouring the wreckage of over 1,500 damaged homes and public buildings for potential survivors.
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