Camille Naredo

Damaged houses are seen following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Ruteng, Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on August 15, 2026. Selo, AFP

TOPSHOT - Damaged houses are seen following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Ruteng, Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on August 15, 2026. A strong 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia early on August 15, the US Geological Survey and Indonesian authorities said, triggering a tsunami warning and prompting hundreds to evacuate. (Photo by SELO / AFP)

Article (news)

INDONESIA

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1786756446614AFP__20260815__C4PU6CC__v3__MidRes__TopshotIndonesiaQuake.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Damaged houses are seen following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Ruteng, Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on August 15, 2026. Selo, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Damaged houses are seen following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Ruteng, Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on August 15, 2026. <em>Selo, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>MAUMERE, Indonesia (<strong>5th UPDATE</strong>) -- Rescuers combed through debris for survivors Saturday after a powerful earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia, killing 20 people and sending thousands fleeing.</p><p>Rescue official Fathur Rahman told AFP at least 20 people were confirmed dead on the popular tourist island and six others reported injured.</p><p>At least two people were known to be trapped alive under rubble following the 7.7-magnitude quake, he said.</p><p>&quot;I have never felt an earthquake this big,&quot; Yulian Juita Ekalia, who lives in Ruteng city more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the epicenter, told AFP by telephone.</p><p>&quot;It felt like we were on a trampoline; it was really scary,&quot; said the 37-year-old university lecturer, who jolted awake at around 5:30 am (2130 GMT on Friday).</p><p>&quot;As I rushed to get outside, everything in the house fell down: the television, my son&#x27;s trophies, the dish racks, suitcases on top of the wardrobes. When I got outside, my son and neighbours were already there, screaming in fear.&quot;</p><p>Fathur said the focus has shifted to locating victims who may be buried under rubble, but rescue efforts have been complicated by landslides cutting off roads.</p><p>Residents in Nagekeo, an area close to the epicenter, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated early Saturday -- a possible sign of an approaching tsunami, AFP journalists witnessed.</p><p>While a tsunami warning was lifted, authorities urged people not to return to damaged buildings for fear that aftershocks may bring them down.</p><p>Many remained outside by lunchtime as dozens of aftershocks continued shaking the island, the strongest measured at a magnitude of 6.1.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Panicking&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Yulian said she had dragged her stove outside and was cooking there, fearing further tremors.</p><p>Outside a nearby hospital, she said she saw patients being treated under emergency tents.</p><p>Seeing images online of her university badly damaged, Yulian said she was &quot;grateful that the quake happened on a Saturday morning when there was no campus activity... I can&#x27;t imagine what it would have been like if it happened while we were all there.&quot;</p><p>Nagekeo resident Yohanes Babo, 56, said he was at a market when the earth started shaking in the early morning.</p><p>&quot;The shaking was strong. Thankfully, we were already outside the house,&quot; he told AFP.</p><p>&quot;People were panicking, running here and there. We&#x27;re evacuating for the time being... and trying to get to the hills,&quot; he said.</p><p>The epicenter of the shallow quake was located just off the north coast of the island, US and Indonesian authorities said.</p><p>The extent of the damage is still being assessed. The area is largely rural with few, if any, high-rise buildings.</p><p>Lukas Lotar, a hospital customer service official in Maumere on the same island, said some patients fled.</p><p>&quot;The jolt was big. I saw some walls were cracked,&quot; he told AFP.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Ring of Fire&#x27; -</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oRU5xM-5S48?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div><p>Long queues of people could be seen evacuating on foot, by motorbike and car, some piled into the back of pickup trucks, after the initial tsunami warning issued by Indonesia&#x27;s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency.</p><p>Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot;, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.</p><p>Flores was struck by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992, which triggered a tsunami and resulted in around 2,500 deaths.</p><p>A devastating 9.1-magnitude tremor in 2004 struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, about 170,000 of them in Indonesia, in one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.</p><p>In 2018, a powerful quake shook the holiday island of Lombok followed by several more tremors, killing over 550 people.</p><p>Later that year, a 7.5-magnitude quake and a subsequent tsunami on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 people dead or missing.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uOfXDr-wMUU?&amp;pp=0gcJCfkLAYcqIYzv&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div><div></div>

<p>Rescuers combed through debris for survivors Saturday after a powerful earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia, killing 20 people and sending thousands fleeing.</p>

Rescuers combed through debris for survivors Saturday after a powerful earthquake struck off Flores island in eastern Indonesia, killing 20 people and sending thousands fleeing.

'Like we were on a trampoline': Indonesia quake kills 20, thousands flee

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'Like we were on a trampoline': Indonesia quake kills 20, thousands flee

Arnold Welianto with Gemma Cahya in Jakarta,

Agence France-Presse

Published August 15, 2026 07:59 AM PHT

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Updated August 15, 2026 04:04 PM PHT

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earthquake

Indonesia

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US Geological Survey

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