A total of 986 tourists were briefly stranded on Padar Island, East\nNusa Tenggara (NTT), after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the\nMbay-Nagekeo area on Saturday morning (15\/8).<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Tourism (Kemenpar) said the tourists were held back\ndue to a temporary suspension of shipping activity as a safety measure\nfollowing the earthquake and the issuance of a tsunami early\nwarning.<\/p>\n
According to a Kemenpar press release, all tourists on Padar Island\nhave now been successfully repatriated. They arrived safely in Labuan\nBajo after port authorities issued a notice reopening shipping.<\/p>\n
Kemenpar, together with the Labuan Bajo Flores Authority Implementing\nAgency (BPOLBF), ensured that tourist safety was the priority in\nhandling the earthquake\u2019s impact across the tourism areas of Flores,\nAlor, Lembata and Bima.<\/p>\n
In addition to tourists on Padar Island, all hotel guests in the\nLabuan Bajo area were also evacuated to a number of safe points outside\nbuildings.<\/p>\n
Several locations used as evacuation points included the Natas\nParapuar area and the Komodo Regional Hospital field.<\/p>\n
Tourists who had earlier been evacuated from the Meurorah Hotel to\nPuncak Waringin have also returned to their respective\naccommodation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, flight operations at Komodo Airport continued with\nrestrictions after technical inspections were carried out. Sea shipping\nactivity has also been gradually reopened.<\/p>\n
Kemenpar also said the entire closing series of the Golo Koe Festival\nin West Manggarai, including the mass, concert and MSME exhibition, was\nhalted as part of efforts to prioritise safety.<\/p>\n
A number of tourism facilities were affected<\/p>\n
The earthquake also affected several tourism facilities in Flores.\nBPOLBF recorded that the Jayakarta Hotel in West Manggarai suffered\ndamage to several parts of the building. All hotel guests and employees\nwere reported safe and have been moved to other hotels deemed\nsecure.<\/p>\n
In Nagekeo, the Papita Mbay Hotel was reported to have suffered\nsevere damage. BPOLBF is still coordinating further handling.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a number of hotels in Labuan Bajo, such as Ayana,\nTa\u2019aktana Marriott, Crown, Menjaga Bay, Luwansa, Sudamala and Meurorah,\nwere generally still in safe condition. Some only experienced minor\ncracks.<\/p>\n
A number of restaurants were also reported to have suffered minor\ndamage. Damage also occurred to tourism support facilities. The wall of\nthe Loh Liang area signboard on Komodo Island was reported to have\ncollapsed.<\/p>\n
In several parts of Flores, the earthquake also caused landslides and\ntoppled electricity poles, affecting several main routes, including\nLabuan Bajo-Ruteng, Bajawa-Ende, Ruteng-Borong and Ende-Moni.<\/p>\n
The tsunami early warning previously issued by BMKG was lifted at\n07.30 WIB or 08.30 WITA. Nevertheless, tourists and residents in Flores\nwere urged to remain calm and follow official information because\naftershocks could still occur.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/986-tourists-temporarily-stranded-on-padar-island-after-m7-earthquake-in-ntt-1786791125", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }