Now Reading: 7.7-magnitude quake off Indonesia kills two, damages buildings
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7.7-magnitude quake off Indonesia kills two, damages buildings
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores region early Saturday, killing at least two people and injuring two others, according to the country’s disaster management agency. The US Geological Survey said the…
The Story in Brief
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores region early Saturday, killing at least two people and injuring two others, according to the country’s disaster management agency. The US Geological Survey said the shallow quake hit at 5.58am local time, 68 km north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara. Several aftershocks followed.
Authorities briefly issued a tsunami warning for parts of five provinces before lifting it after Indonesia’s meteorology agency found no dangerous sea-level changes. Hospitals evacuated patients and moved equipment outdoors. Local reports described collapsed buildings in Maumere and panic across Flores island. At a seminary in Sikka, a collapsing roof forced students and staff to flee, while a priest reportedly broke his leg after jumping from a second-floor building.
The Indian Opinion
The early casualty count should be treated as provisional, not turned into either disaster sensationalism or premature reassurance. A tsunami warning being lifted does not measure the full damage from a shallow earthquake, especially where buildings and hospitals have been affected. Claims about the scale of destruction will need proper structural assessments, while rescue teams must account for aftershocks. The next reliable markers are the confirmed death toll, the number of damaged homes and whether relief reaches isolated communities.
Source: greaterkashmir.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
