M7.7 Mbay Earthquake Kills 33 in Manggarai Raya, Death Toll Expected to Rise
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the Mbay area of Nagekeo Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday morning (15/8) has caused widespread damage across several parts of Flores. As of 15.00 WITA, at least 33 people have been reported dead in the Manggarai Raya region, comprising East Manggarai, Manggarai and West Manggarai Regencies.
According to provisional data compiled from the Manggarai Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and reports from the East Manggarai Police, the death toll in East Manggarai has reached 17 people. In Manggarai Regency, 15 people have been recorded dead, while one person has been reported dead in West Manggarai Regency.
The Manggarai Regency BPBD stated that these figures remain provisional. Officers are still conducting direct checks at a number of affected locations to confirm the number of casualties and the extent of building damage.
“Provisional data is still being checked in the field. Officers are still going down to a number of locations to confirm the number of casualties and damage caused by the earthquake,” the Manggarai Regency BPBD said.
Meanwhile, the East Manggarai Police reported that the death toll in its area has reached 17 people. Police and a joint team are still conducting sweeps and data collection at the worst-affected locations.
“For provisional casualty data in East Manggarai, there are 17 people dead. However, officers are still conducting checks and data collection in the field, so this number could still change,” the East Manggarai Police said.
Thus, the provisional total of deaths in Manggarai Raya has reached 33 people. This number is likely to continue rising because the search, evacuation and verification process is still ongoing.
The impact of the earthquake is also visible in the damage to residents’ homes and public facilities. Data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) as of 12.30 WIB previously recorded 54 heavily damaged houses, nine moderately damaged houses and 11 lightly damaged houses. In Manggarai Regency, 29 houses were recorded as heavily damaged, nine moderately damaged and nine lightly damaged. In East Manggarai, at least 23 houses were heavily damaged. These figures may also change as data collection in the field continues.
Fatalities have also been reported from other regencies in East Nusa Tenggara. BNPB data in the 12.30 WIB update previously recorded three deaths in Sikka Regency, in addition to six people in Manggarai and five people in East Manggarai. However, this data has since developed along with reports from the regions and the ongoing verification process.
In West Manggarai, one person has been reported dead. The strong tremors also caused damage to a number of buildings in Labuan Bajo. Residents, tourists and hospital patients were evacuated to open areas to avoid the risk of buildings collapsing.
The main earthquake struck Flores on Saturday morning and briefly triggered a tsunami early warning. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) later ended the warning at 07.30 WIB after monitoring results showed no dangerous conditions. The public is still urged to remain alert to the possibility of aftershocks and not to enter damaged buildings.
As of 15.00 WITA, joint officers are still conducting checks from one location to another. Because the evacuation and data collection process is not yet complete, the figure of 33 deaths in Manggarai Raya remains provisional and is likely to continue rising.