Magnitude 7.7 earthquake off Indonesia triggers tsunami warning, killing at least 20

Authorities lifted the warning once the agency found no significant sea-level changes following the quake. Despite the cancellation, residents along coastal stretches of eastern Indonesia were advised to remain cautious as aftershocks continued to ripple through the region. Local disaster management agencies moved to assess damage to homes, public buildings and transport links, while hospitals in Sikka and nearby regencies began treating the injured.

Tsunami warning issued and lifted

The earthquake was strongly felt across Flores Island, where residents reported violent shaking that sent people fleeing into the streets. Power outages and structural damage to buildings were reported in multiple regencies. Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency deployed teams to the hardest-hit areas to coordinate search-and-rescue operations and to compile a fuller count of casualties and damaged infrastructure.

Damage reported across Flores

Search and rescue teams were dispatched to Flores, with the military and national disaster agency working alongside local police and volunteers to clear debris and locate anyone trapped under collapsed structures. Temporary shelters were set up in Sikka for residents displaced from their homes, and emergency supplies including food, water and blankets were distributed to affected communities.

Search and rescue under way

Indonesia's President was not named in the verified information available. National authorities have yet to release a consolidated national casualty figure, and local officials cautioned that the toll could rise as search teams reach villages cut off by landslides and damaged roads. Communications remained patchy in parts of the regencies nearest to the epicentre, complicating early damage assessments.

The broader Pacific region has been alert to tsunami risk in recent weeks, and the warning issued on 15 August briefly extended watch advisories across parts of Indonesia's eastern coastline. The decision to lift the warning came after monitoring stations confirmed no significant wave activity, allowing residents to begin returning to their homes from higher ground.

European satellite support offered

Indonesia regularly experiences powerful earthquakes because of its position along several tectonic plate boundaries. The country's disaster preparedness system, refined after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, includes real-time sea-level gauges and a network of regional warning centres. Monday's events tested parts of that infrastructure as alerts moved quickly through provincial channels to coastal communities.

The European Commission announced plans to provide support through the Copernicus program, the bloc's Earth observation satellite service, which can be activated to deliver rapid mapping of affected areas. Such satellite imagery is typically used to identify damaged zones, blocked roads and flooded terrain, helping rescue teams prioritise deployments in the critical first hours and days following a major quake.

Humanitarian organisations and Indonesian provincial authorities were coordinating the early response, with attention focused on shelter, medical care and the restoration of power and communications. Officials urged residents to remain vigilant for aftershocks and to follow guidance from local disaster agencies as assessments continued throughout the day.

Why Indonesia faces frequent earthquakes

Indonesia sits along the so-called Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped belt of seismic and volcanic activity encircling the Pacific Basin. Large earthquakes are a recurring feature of life in eastern Indonesia, where communities have developed local protocols for evacuating coastal areas after strong tremors.

Further updates on casualties, damage and international assistance were expected as access improved to the more remote parts of Flores Island. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency continued to monitor aftershocks and any potential for additional tsunami-generating activity along the eastern Indonesian arc.