A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 hit the coast of Indonesia early Saturday and killed two people, triggering a tsunami warning and a series of aftershocks, according to the nation’s geophysics agency BMKG. Residents in coastal parts of Flores island were urged to leave the area immediately and move to higher ground.
Indonesia’s meteorology, climatology and geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning covering parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces. It also advised people to stay away from beaches and riverbanks. Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and frequently experiences earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Abdul Muhari, an official at the national disaster agency, BNPB, said, “We strongly urge our communities along the northern coast of Flores and in the southern parts, on the southern islands and across the southern region, to carry out self-evacuation immediately. The country lies along the Pacific Basin’s “Ring of Fire”, an area of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
