JAKARTA: At least 47 people were killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake and dozens of aftershocks struck off eastern Indonesia on Saturday, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in its latest statement.
Rescue teams have yet to reach Nagekeo, the region closest to the epicentre, after landslides blocked roads and disrupted communications, officials said.
“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong,” said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara. “There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves.”
Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre (3 feet) were recorded in several areas of the Southeast Asian nation after the early-morning quake. Authorities lifted a tsunami warning about three hours later.
Earlier, rescuers in the port town of Maumere found 20 dead, six injured and two people trapped under rubble, said Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency. Maumere is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia.
Suharyanto, head of the BNPB, earlier said residents remained trapped in several buildings across the affected area, while there were reports of landslides blocking a number of roads.
Teams have yet to reach Nagekeo and mobile communications in the region were affected, Fathur told Reuters earlier. Attempts to reach the area by road were thwarted by landslides, while another team was trying to reach it by ferry, he said.
About 2,000 residents in Nagekeo evacuated, and damage was reported to homes, warehouses and government buildings, the BNPB said. Authorities also reported power outages and traffic congestion in parts of the regency.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena told a press conference that at least five people were killed when buildings collapsed as they slept.
Preliminary BNPB data showed 157 homes were heavily damaged, 41 moderately damaged and 148 lightly damaged. Damage was also reported at 87 schools, 18 health facilities, five places of worship and six office buildings, along with other infrastructure.
Parts of a building collapsed into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran in the street, according to a Facebook video, verified by Reuters as being filmed at a port in Maumere.
Rescuers were searching for survivors beneath a partially collapsed port building.
Siti Sulfia Bira, 37, who lives with her family near the port in Maumere, said she rushed to higher ground when the tremors started.
“At the moment we don’t dare to go home just yet because the situation isn’t stable, we still worry that there might be more tremors coming,” she told Reuters.
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