Rescuers search for survivors of powerful Indonesia earthquake

Rescue teams i I do esia have bee sea chi g fo su vivo s of Satu day’s majo ea thquake which left at least 47 people dead.

The mag itude 7.7 quake st uck the isla d of Flo es sho tly befo e 05:00 (22:00 GMT o F iday) a d had a depth of 15km, I do esia’s meteo ology a d geophysics age cy stated.

P elimi a y epo ts i dicate hu d eds of buildi gs have bee seve ely damaged by the quake a d the doze s of afte shocks that followed.

Howeve , the full scale of the disaste is still u clea , a d ews of a seco d ea thquake of mag itude 6.9 at the othe e d of I do esia se ved as a emi de of why they call this egio the i g of fi e.

T emo s f om Satu day’s powe ful ea thquake we e epo tedly felt by eside ts as fa west as Bima Rege cy a d City, the Natio al Disaste Ma ageme t Age cy (BNPB) age cy said, but the Ma gga ai p ovi ce is amo g the most affected.

P elimi a y data shows that 24 fatalities had bee eco ded the e, mea while 17 deaths we e eco ded i East Ma gga ai p ovi ce, th ee i Sikka p ovi ce, a d at least o e i each of the Ngada, E de a d West Ma gga ai p ovi ces.

At least two othe s had bee se iously i ju ed a d 11 slightly i ju ed.

The BNPB said aid was bei g se t to the affected a eas with 10,500 packages a ivi g at the base ope atio s so fa .

It will take time to assess the full exte t of the dest uctio i the egio , which is emote a d mou tai ous.

Howeve , ea ly epo ts i dicate mo e tha 150 houses had bee seve ely damaged, as well as doze s of educatio al i stitutio s, a umbe of healthca e facilities, places of wo ship, offices, a d seve al othe public facilities.

Video take at the po t i Maume e – the la gest tow i Flo es – showed la ge chu ks of co c ete b eaki g off the te mi al buildi g o to passe ge s waiti g to boa d a i te -isla d fe y. Some we e th ow i to the sea whe the ga gway to a ship collapsed.

Ema uel Melkiades Laka Le a, gove o of East Nusa Te gga a p ovi ce, told a ews co fe e ce that they we e killed i thei sleep by collapsi g ubble.

Othe s, like A old Welia to, who lives i Talibu a, a village ea the coastli e i Sikka, East Nusa Te gga a, we e shake out of thei beds.

“I was sta tled awake a d immediately we t to my child’s oom.” He said.

He also told the BBC that ma y people had al eady fled i to the hills because the sea had also eceded.

While a tsu ami wa i g was i itially issued – leadi g some 2,000 people to self-evacuate – it was lifted a ou d th ee hou s afte the i itial jolt, whe o sig ifica t sea level ise was detected.

La dslides, howeve , did block access to some villages but the expe ie ced escue teams wo ked ti elessly th ough the day to f ee those t apped u de the ubble.

I Rute g, a tempo a y medical te t was also assembled outside of a hospital to t eat ea thquake victims.

The o goi g advice f om BNPB is fo people to emai calm a d to stay away f om coastal a eas a d st uctu es showi g sig s of damage.

I do esia is p o e to ea thquakes a d volca ic activity, lyi g alo g the meeti g poi t of th ee majo tecto ic plates.