Around 5,000 people have been evacuated after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake smashed an area in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 51, blocking roads and causing landslides, authorities said on Sunday.
More than 3,500 military and police officers have been deployed to the region, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement. Most of those missing were trapped under rubble, and more than 1,300 homes were damaged, BNPB said.
Rescuers were able to access parts of Maumere that had been blocked by landslides, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said. The East Nusa Tenggara government is considering declaring an emergency for the province, BNPB said, which would allow authorities to mobilise resources and funding. Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 290 million people, straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a seismically active zone where tectonic plates meet, triggering frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
