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The death toll from an earthquake that hit eastern Indonesia reached 100 on Monday, the disaster agency chief said, as relief operations continued for a 10th day.
The 7.7-magnitude quake shook the province of East Nusa Tenggara on 15 August, followed by thousands of aftershocks, damaging more than 73,000 homes and forcing the evacuation of about 180,000 people.
The death toll reached 100 as more people undergoing treatment succumbed to their injuries, disaster agency chief Suharyanto said in a press conference, adding more than 1,600 people were injured.
Authorities were distributing aid using helicopters, trucks, and motorcycles, Suharyanto said.
The earthquake was Indonesia’s deadliest since 2022, when a shallow 5.6-magnitude quake killed hundreds in West Java.
A man walks past a mosque collapsed during an earthquake in Lamba Leda, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Grocery stores, gas stations and other shops have reopened ten days after the powerful earthquake.
Debris covered streets and searchers continued to dig in the rubble for possible victims, while more than 40,000 people remained in tents, evacuation centres and makeshift shelters.
The earthquake struck shortly before 6am Saturday off Flores, a remote island in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Immediate food and water needs have been met and local governments in seven regencies hit by the quake have resumed operations “to accelerate post-disaster recovery and serve the community’s administrative needs,” East Nusa Tenggara governor, Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena, said.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 10km (6 miles), according to the US Geological Survey. Residents fled in panic as tsunami warnings were issued and later lifted. Authorities recorded more than 2,100 aftershocks through Tuesday, though only 70 were felt by residents.
Thousands of people across the island slept outdoors, fearing aftershocks. The streets remained covered in debris as rescue workers were cleaning up the rubble and mud from a landslide while “anticipating the possibility of discovering more victims,” said Fathur Rahman, the search mission coordinator.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Flores experienced one of the country’s deadliest disasters in 1992, when an earthquake and ensuing tsunami killed about 2,500 people.
