🔶 7.7-magnitude earthquake shakes eastern Indonesia

Following a severe earthquake on the island of Flores in Indonesia, buildings shook and some of them collapsed. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7, has led to the deaths of a number of residents.

The U.S. Geological Survey announced the earthquake’s magnitude as 7.7. According to the center’s report, the earthquake occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometers and at a distance of approximately 70 kilometers northwest of Ende, in the center of the island of Flores.

After the earthquake, Indonesian officials issued a tsunami warning, but the warning was later lifted. The strength of several aftershocks has also been reported as 6.1 and 5.9.

According to Indonesia’s disaster management agency, at least 38 people have died so far. The head of the agency, in a press conference, said that 13 people were injured, with the condition of two of them described as critical, and that about 2,000 people had taken shelter in safe locations.

The full extent of the destruction is not yet clear, and rescue forces are still searching for trapped people amid the rubble.