At least 14 dead after 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia

At least fou tee people have bee killed afte a 7.7-mag itude ea thquake st uck I do esia ea ly o Satu day, the atio ‘s disaste mitigatio age cy has said.

BPBD said that othe s had bee i ju ed to va yi g deg ees, cautio i g that the figu es we e p elimi a y while sea ch a d escue ope atio s we e o goi g. O e local escue said at least 20 had bee killed.

Buildi gs i the egio have bee damaged by the quake a d the doze s of afte shocks that followed.

The quake st uck the isla d of Flo es sho tly befo e 05:00 local time o Satu day (23:00 GMT o F iday). It had a depth of 15km, I do esia’s meteo ology a d geophysics age cy stated.

The shallowe a ea thquake is, the mo e dest uctive its effects o the su face te d to be.

St o g afte shocks we e felt i the same a ea, i cludi g o e with a mag itude of 6.1.

Video take at the po t i Maume e 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.

A old Welia to, who lives i Talibu a, a village ea the coastli e i Sikka, East Nusa Te gga a, said he was awoke by the “ve y st o g shaki g”, addi g: “I was sta tled awake a d immediately we t to my child’s oom.”

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

“Some othe eside ts we e sta di g alo g the oadside because the sea had also eceded,” he explai ed. “The wate emai ed low fo quite some time, so eve yo e pa icked a d a – I we t a ou d to the commu ity health ce t e, a d the people the e had al eady bee evacuated.”

A tsu ami wa i g was issued but lifted a ou d th ee hou s afte the i itial jolt whe o sig ifica t sea level ise was detected.

A st eam of people could be see movi g i la d o moto bikes afte autho ities issued a tsu ami wa i g. BNPB said 2,000 people had evacuated o elocated o thei ow .

It said th ee fatalities had bee eco ded i Sikka p ovi ce, six i Ma gga ai p ovi ce, a d five i East Ma gga ai p ovi ce.

At least two othe s had bee se iously i ju ed a d 11 slightly i ju ed, the disaste age cy added.

Welia to said ma y eside ts of Talibu a we e choosi g to emai outdoo s as the afte shocks mea t they we e af aid to etu to thei homes.

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.

P elimi a y epo ts i dicated 54 houses had bee seve ely damaged, as well as five healthca e facilities, th ee places of wo ship, six gove me t buildi gs, a educatio al i stitutio a d a wa ehouse.

Ma gga ai p ovi ce is amo g the most affected a eas, BNPB said.

It advised 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.