२४ तासांत इंडोनेशियाला ३ मोठ्या भूकंपांचे धक्के; फ्लोरेस बेटासह...

By GT24x7 Correspondents · 16 August 2026 · GlobalToday24x7

In a devastating sequence of seismic events, Indonesia was struck by three major earthquakes within a 24-hour period beginning August 15, 2026. The most destructive of these was a powerful magnitude-7.7 earthquake that struck offshore near Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers. The initial shock triggered widespread structural damage, landed multiple landslides across six regencies, and briefly prompted tsunami warnings along northern and southern coastal belts, causing thousands of panicked residents to flee to higher ground.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) confirmed that at least 47 people lost their lives, with dozens more suffering injuries across Sikka, West Manggarai, East Manggarai, and surrounding regencies. Search and rescue operations faced severe complications due to power outages, severed communication networks, and massive landslides that blocked the 700-kilometer Trans-Flores highway. Hours after the Flores quake, a second 6.9-magnitude earthquake rattled northern Sumatra, followed shortly by a third 6.0-magnitude quake off the Minahasa Peninsula in northern Sulawesi, underscoring the severe tectonic instability along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Mass Evacuations and Infrastructure Damage

The catastrophic shaking flattened over 150 residential homes, damaged nearly 200 others, and severely impacted more than 100 public infrastructure facilities—including hospitals, educational campuses, airports, and religious structures across Flores. At least 2,000 residents self-evacuated to temporary shelters, predominantly from the Maumere and Nagekeo districts closest to the epicenter.

International Mobilization and Relief Response

Disaster response teams deployed three helicopters and naval vessels to transport emergency medical supplies, heavy earth-moving equipment, and food parcels to isolated communities cut off by fallen earth. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) initiated immediate relief operations to support affected populations taking refuge in temporary centers.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered European Union support through the Copernicus Earth observation satellite system to provide real-time mapping, damage assessment, and logistics tracking for search teams. As hundreds of aftershocks continue to tremble across eastern Indonesia, local disaster management teams remain focused on extricating trapped civilians from collapsed structures and securing essential supplies for displaced families.