NTB Governor urges residents to boost earthquake disaster preparedness

West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal has urged all residents to improve their preparedness for various possible disasters following the strong earthquake that shook East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

“NTB is a region that is prone to earthquakes, so we must improve our preparedness,” he said in Mataram on Sunday.

The NTB provincial government will soon issue a circular to all regents and mayors to increase vigilance against disasters in their respective areas.

The circular on improving preparedness is important to implement without causing panic among the public.

Iqbal asked residents to remain calm in responding to information regarding the potential for aftershocks or earthquakes in the West Nusa Tenggara region after the major earthquake that occurred in Flores, NTT, on 15 August 2026.

According to him, the earthquake that occurred in Flores does not automatically trigger an earthquake in West Nusa Tenggara. The statement was delivered after Iqbal communicated with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and academics from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Based on a report from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the total number of fatalities caused by the 7.7-magnitude tectonic earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) reached 47 people.

BNPB recorded a total of 157 heavily damaged houses, 41 moderately damaged houses and 148 lightly damaged houses.

Damage also occurred to public facilities, including 87 educational facilities, 18 health facilities, five places of worship, six offices and a number of other public facilities.

Geologist from the University of Muhammadiyah Mataram (UMMAT) Aji Syailendra said the Nusa Tenggara region has high tectonic activity because it is influenced by various active fault structures, including the Flores Back-Arc Thrust.