Thousands await aid after deadly Indonesian earthquake
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake in eastern Indonesia has killed at least 53 people and displaced thousands. Survivors are currently living in makeshift shelters while facing aftershocks and a lack of basic resources.
Why it matters
The disaster underscores the ongoing vulnerability of populations living in the Pacific Ring of Fire and the urgent need for humanitarian aid.
Around 5,000 people have been evacuated after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake rocked eastern Indonesia, killing at least 53, blocking roads and causing landslides, authorities said.
They added that more than 130 people had been injured, many with broken bones.
Yesterday's quake was the Southeast Asian nation's deadliest since a 2022 quake killed hundreds in West Java.
More than 3,300 people in Indonesia's Sikka region - one of the hardest hit - self-evacuated or were in a sports arena, according to the country's national disaster mitigation agency, known as BNPB.
Some residents were stranded outside collapsed homes under makeshift tents made out of tarpaulin, while others received treatment in a tent outside the local hospital.
A sprawling archipelago of 290 million people, Indonesia straddles the "Pacific Ring of Fire", a seismically active zone where tectonic plates meet, triggering frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
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