Rescue teams in Indonesia have been searching for survivors of Saturday’s major earthquake which left at least 47 people dead.
The magnitude 7.7 quake struck the island of Flores shortly before 05:00 (22:00 GMT on Friday) and had a depth of 15km, Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency stated.
Preliminary reports indicated more than 900 homes and hundreds of other buildings were damaged severely by the quake and 341 aftershocks, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) agency said.
However, the full scale of the disaster is still unclear, and news of a second earthquake of magnitude 6.9 at the other end of Indonesia served as a reminder of why this region is called the ring of fire.
Tremors from Saturday’s powerful earthquake were reportedly felt by residents as far west as Bima Regency and City, the BNPB said, but the Manggarai province is among the most affected.
Preliminary data shows that 24 fatalities had been recorded there, meanwhile 17 deaths were recorded in East Manggarai province, three in Sikka province, and at least one in each of the Ngada, Ende and West Manggarai provinces.
At least two others had been seriously injured and 11 slightly injured.
The BNPB said more than 5,000 people remained in evacuation shelters and aid 10,500 aid packages have been sent to affected areas.
“Meeting basic needs and providing logistics for evacuees has become one of the top priorities of the emergency response,” the BNPB said.
It will take time to assess the full extent of the destruction in the region, which is remote and mountainous.
