President Prabowo Wants NTT Earthquake Victims Served Directly

President Prabowo Subianto conducted a working visit to Mbay, Nagekeo Regency, Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), on Wednesday (26/8/2026). The visit was made to directly inspect the condition of residents affected by the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the region on Saturday (15/8).

During a coordination meeting in Nagekeo, the President explained his reason for only visiting the disaster site several days after the event. According to him, this step was taken deliberately to provide space for relevant agencies and local government to focus on emergency services without their concentration being divided by state visit protocol.

“It was indeed deliberate that I did not come in the early days of the earthquake, because I wanted to give all agencies the opportunity to serve the people directly,” said President Prabowo. He added that the presence of central officials in the early stages of a disaster often diverts the focus of regional officials who must carry out pick-ups and accompaniment.

Although he had only just arrived at the location, the President stressed that he had continued to monitor the progress of disaster management from Jakarta intensively. He also expressed appreciation and gratitude to all parties who had reacted quickly in handling the impact of the earthquake in Flores.

Based on data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) up to Tuesday (25/8), the total death toll from the M7.7 earthquake has reached 103 people. The distribution of fatalities covers seven regencies in the Flores region.

Demographically, the fatalities consist of 45 percent male and 55 percent female. In terms of age, the elderly group was the most affected with a percentage of 45 percent, followed by adults at 37 percent, children and adolescents at 12 percent, and the remainder being toddlers and infants.

In addition to fatalities, BNPB recorded 1,666 people injured. East Manggarai Regency was the area with the highest injury rate, where 239 people suffered serious injuries and 404 people suffered minor injuries. To date, BNPB is still updating data as additional reports come in from the field.