ENDE, Indonesia — Rescuers in eastern Indonesia were combing through collapsed buildings Monday to find anyone who might still be trapped under rubble after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 53 people, as the Southeast Asian nation marks its Independence Day reeling from the impact of fresh tremors.
The disaster Saturday in the province of East Nusa Tenggara was the country’s deadliest since a 2022 quake killed hundreds in West Java. The official death toll was at 53 as of late Sunday.
The quake also caused landslides and blocked roads across Indonesia’s southernmost province, including the regions of Sikka and Manggarai.
Thousands were evacuated, with many sheltering in tents outdoors and afraid to return to their homes due to fears of aftershocks.
There were nearly 1,600 aftershocks in the province as of Monday, local media reported the geophysics agency chief as saying. The agency reported a 5.6 quake in Nagekeo region, near the initial epicenter, on Monday morning.
In the parking lot of a damaged health center littered with tents and hospital beds in a village close to the quake-affected Ende region, Firmus Woge, a 64-year-old farmer, was being treated for his asthma, aggravated by the panic setting in as the buildings around him continued to rattle.
Magnitude-7.7 earthquake hits off the coast of Indonesia
He said he had difficulty breathing overnight.
“I felt better last night and this morning, but it’s getting worse again after this morning’s quake,” he said, gasping for breath.
The search was set to continue on Monday, authorities said.
Fathur Rahman, chief at the rescue office in Maumere, Sikka’s capital, told Reuters on Monday that the search would focus on aerial monitoring for anyone missing.
Rescuers will use an extrication device and a helicopter, Fathur said, adding that there were no reports of people missing and no challenges hampering the search.
Authorities readied planes to deliver aid such as food and tents, the chief of the country’s disaster mitigation agency, Suharyanto, said late Sunday. The quake damaged around 500 homes, said Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name.
Indonesia will also build emergency field hospitals in several areas, said Benjamin Paulus Octavianus, the country’s deputy health minister.
Neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons are needed to treat head trauma and broken bones, Benjamin said.
In Jakarta, about 930 miles west of the disaster zone, President Prabowo Subianto was expected on Monday to preside over celebrations marking Indonesia’s independence from Japanese rule in 1945.
Residents fleeing from an Ende village in fear of tsunamis brought their clothes and mattresses to higher ground.
Asked how he felt about the Independence Day celebrations, one resident, Gervas, 42, said: “I don’t think about that anymore … I just think about the safety of my wife and 4-year-old twins.”
