Jakarta, August 15 (QNA) - The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the coast of Flores Island in eastern Indonesia has risen to at least 40 dead and 50 injured, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate coastal areas out of fear of tsunamis.
A second earthquake, measuring 6.9 magnitude, was also recorded on Sumatra Island in the western part of the archipelago, with no reports of damage or casualties.
Fathurrahman, rescue operations official, stated that the death toll from the first earthquake has risen to 40 dead and 50 injured.
Meanwhile, Head of the National Disaster Management Agency, Suharyanto said that people remain trapped inside several buildings. He stated that the disaster agency is preparing two helicopters and an airplane to participate in rescue operations.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the quake, which occurred at 05:58 local time, was at a shallow depth, 68 kilometers away from the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.
On Flores Island, residents of the village of Maumere left their areas and headed for higher ground out of fear of the earthquake's aftereffects.
Indonesia and its neighboring countries are located within the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a seismically active region stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin, making the archipelago frequently vulnerable to earthquakes and tremors.
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake previously struck eastern Indonesia in early July without causing casualties or significant damage.
In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami killed about 2,200 people in Palu, the largest city in Central Sulawesi province. Several tremors in the same year also killed about 550 people on the tourist island of Lombok and the Sumbawa region. In 2004, Indonesia experienced one of the most violent earthquakes in its history, measuring 9.1 magnitude off the coast of Sumatra Island, which triggered massive tsunamis that claimed the lives of about 170,000 people in the archipelago and around 50,000 in neighboring countries. (QNA)