A vicious magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia on Saturday, killing at least 53 people and forcing many others to evacuate.

The earthquake was followed by nearly 1,000 aftershocks.

Numerous buildings were knocked down, while residents feared the possibility of a tsunami.

“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong,” one resident said, according to Reuters.

“There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves,” the individual added.

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Reuters has more:

Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre (3 feet) were recorded in several areas of the ​Southeast Asian nation after the early-morning quake. Authorities lifted a tsunami warning about three hours later.

Earlier, rescuers in the port town of Maumere found ​20 dead, six injured and two people trapped under rubble, said Fathur Rahman, head of the city’s rescue agency. Maumere ⁠is the main town in Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia.

Suharyanto, head of the BNPB, earlier said residents remained trapped in several buildings across the ​affected area, while there were reports of landslides blocking a number of roads.

Teams have yet to reach Nagekeo and mobile communications in the region were affected, Fathur ​told Reuters earlier. Attempts to reach the area by road were thwarted by landslides, while another team was trying to reach it by ferry, he said.

About 2,000 residents in Nagekeo evacuated, and damage was reported to homes, warehouses and government buildings, the BNPB said. Authorities also reported power outages and traffic congestion in parts of the regency.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades ​Laka Lena told a press conference that at least five people were killed when buildings collapsed as they slept.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter was “42 miles north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province,” CBS News noted.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake later hit the country’s western Sumatra island.

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CBS News shared further:

Authorities have since recorded at least 995 aftershocks, but only 46 were felt by residents, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency’s chief for disaster prevention. The largest recorded aftershock had a magnitude of 6.2.

More than 900 homes were destroyed and 450 more damaged in East Nusa Tenggara province, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters. At least 241 homes were damaged in the Flores region alone, Muhari said.

East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko said the earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings. He said power outages in cities and villages have hampered the flow of information and complicated search and rescue efforts.

“We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said. He said that landslides in Ende regency triggered by the earthquake also cut off the Trans-Flores highway, a roughly 435-mile paved mountain road spanning Flores Island, from Labuan Bajo to Larantuka.

The powerful tremor also destroyed more than 100 public facilities, including schools, medical centers and churches.

 

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