A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early on Saturday, killing at least two people, authorities said.
The epicenter of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit off the coast of the island of Flores at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Shallow earthquakes (up to 70 kilometers deep) are considered more dangerous and destructive.
Where did the earthquake strike?
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the first quake at 4:58 am (2158 GMT) at a depth of 15 km (9 miles), followed by several aftershocks.
It was strongly felt for around one minute in areas including Nagekeo and Bima, according to local authorities.
Video shared on social media from Maumere, the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia, showed part of a building collapsing in a cloud of dust and rubble as people screamed and ran into the street, Reuters reported.
“Many buildings here were damaged … I saw that the waiting room at the Pelni port terminal in Maumere had collapsed,” Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka, a regency within East Nusa Tenggara province, told AP.
Tsunami warning lifted
The initial jolt was followed by several aftershocks in the same area, including one of magnitude 6.1.
BMKG issued a tsunami warning for part of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces.
An alert was issued for waves ranging from 0.5 meters to three meters (1.6 to 9.8 feet).
BMKG also urged residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks.
The tsunami warning was later lifted.
“We have ended (the tsunami warning) but we will keep monitoring the sea level,” Wijayanto, earthquake and tsunami director at BMKG, said.
Residents evacuated
Before the tsunami warning was lifted, residents of Maumere on Flores Island were told to move to higher ground, according to AFP.
State television also showed hundreds of people evacuating in nearby Nagekeo regency.
Local TV footage showed a hospital in the district of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara Province moving patients outside.
History of earthquakes
Indonesia is located on the so-called “Ring of Fire,” a region of heightened seismic activity in the Pacific basin that stretches from Southeast Asia to Japan.
Here are some of the biggest quakes to strike the region:
1992, 7 magnitude: Tsunami following a strong earthquake killed about 2,500 people on the southeastern island of Flores
2004, 9.1 magnitude: Quake struck off the coast of Sumatra triggering a tsunami that killed 170,000 in Indonesia and 220,000 throughout the region
2018, 6.9 magnitude: killed more than 550 people on the islands of Lombok and Sumbawa
2018, 7.5 magnitude: a quake and a subsequent tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.
Edited by: Karl Sexton
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