A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores island Saturday morning, killing more than a dozen people, damaging buildings and sending residents fleeing their homes, according to authorities. The powerful quake rattled communities across the region and raised concerns about further damage and possible aftershocks. Emergency crews were assessing affected areas as authorities worked to determine the full extent of the destruction.
Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of intense seismic activity stretching around the Pacific Ocean. The country has experienced some of the world’s deadliest earthquakes and tsunamis, including the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 200,000 people across several countries, including Indonesia.
Flores has also experienced devastating earthquakes. In 1992, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck near the island, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 2,000 people and caused widespread destruction.
The latest earthquake has renewed attention on Indonesia’s earthquake preparedness, particularly in coastal communities where strong offshore earthquakes can pose an additional tsunami risk.
