Flores Quake: Death Toll Rises To 70, Nearly 12,000 Houses Damaged
By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil
JAKARTA, Aug 18 (NNN) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Flores Island has risen to 70, with 2,119 aftershocks recorded and 11,925 houses damaged across affected areas in East Nusa Tenggara.
Acting Head of the National Disaster Management Agency’s (BNPB) Disaster Data, Information and Communication Centre Berton Panjaitan said the aftershocks, recorded as of 4 pm local time Tuesday, ranged from magnitude 1.3 to 6.2. Of these, 24 measured above magnitude 5 and 70 were felt by residents.
“Earthquake activity remains fluctuating and the decay pattern has yet to be clearly observed. It is estimated that conditions will begin to stabilise within the next two to three weeks,” he told an online press conference on Tuesday.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck at 4.58 am local time on Saturday, with its epicentre in the sea about 30 kilometres northeast of Mbay in Nagekeo, East Nusa Tenggara province, prompting a tsunami warning that the authorities ended at 7.31 am after sea-level observations showed no further significant rise.
Berton said Health Ministry data showed 1,182 people were injured across the affected areas, including 442 seriously injured and 513 with minor injuries in East Manggarai, which recorded the highest number of injuries.
“The number of evacuees currently stands at 40,040 people. This does not reflect the number of damaged houses, so we need to be careful in interpreting it, as many residents evacuated due to the psychological impact of the earthquake,” he said.
Of the 11,925 damaged houses, he said 5,516 sustained severe damage, 1,916 moderate damage and 4,493 light damage, with Nagekeo, West Manggarai and Ngada recording the highest levels of damage.
On infrastructure recovery, Berton said authorities had identified 33 landslide points along national roads, with temporary work completed at 32 locations and access restored.
Seven excavators and four loaders had been mobilised to speed up the restoration of access, with one of the damaged roads now passable, while seven other locations remained accessible on a limited basis with vehicles taking turns to pass.
Meanwhile, Berton said electricity supply had been restored to 99.9 per cent of affected customers as of 5 am Tuesday, while telecommunications network recovery across affected areas had reached 99.7 per cent.
Tourism activities in Labuan Bajo and Komodo National Park were generally operating normally and remained safe, he said. Access and activities at Labuan Bajo’s Marina Port had also resumed.
-- NNN-BERNAMA
