Jakarta, Aug 15 (EFE).- At least 38 people were killed and around 2,000 evacuated after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores island on Saturday, triggering tsunami waves of nearly 1 meter as rescue teams continued searching affected areas.
The earthquake struck at around 6 a.m. local time (10 p.m. GMT Friday), with its epicenter about 62 km northwest of Ende, the most populous city on Flores, with nearly 90,000 inhabitants.
It occurred at a depth of 10 km, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) chief Suharyanto told reporters that there had been 38 deaths, two seriously injured, 11 mildly injured, and 2,000 evacuated.
The latest toll puts the number of fatalities at 17 in East Manggarai district, 16 in Manggarai, three in Sikka, one in Ende and one in West Manggarai. All are in East Nusa Tenggara province.
