Indonesia: NTT Earthquake Tragedy, Indonesian Earthquake Death toll reaches at least 48 People Killed and Dozens of Residents Still Wanted

【JAKARTA】More than 5,000 Residents Displaced After the NTT Earthquake, 3 Districts Determine Emergency Response Status. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake in NTT displaced more than 5,000 residents and killed 48 people And 462 Buildings Damaged and Three counties established emergency alert status.

The number of victims who died as a result of the earthquake that rocked the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) region continues to increase.

As of Sunday (16/8/2026) at 08.30 WITA, 48 people were reported to have died, while 64 others were injured.

Head of the Maumere SAR Office and SAR Mission Coordinator, Fathur Rahman, said this number was still temporary.

“Data sementara sebanyak 48 orang meninggal dunia dan 64 orang luka-luka. Kemungkinan masih bertambah karena masih ada yang tertimbun,” kata Fathur, Minggu.

Operasi pencarian dan pertolongan pada hari ini dipusatkan di sejumlah wilayah terdampak, termasuk Kota Mbay, Kabupaten Nagekeo, serta kawasan Reo di Kabupaten Manggarai.

Tim gabungan mulai diterjunkan sejak pukul 06.00 WITA dengan membawa personel serta peralatan pendukung untuk mempercepat proses pencarian dan evakuasi.

Sebelumnya, operasi SAR sempat menghadapi kendala akibat akses jalan menuju sejumlah lokasi terdampak tertutup longsor.

Namun, petugas berhasil membuka kembali jalur tersebut sehingga cakupan pencarian dapat diperluas.

“Tim Pos SAR Manggarai Barat yang bertugas di wilayah Manggarai Timur per pukul 06.00 WITA berhasil membuka jalur darat yang sempat tertutup longsor, sehingga jangkauan pencarian kini lebih luas,” ujar Fathur.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Indonesian authorities, the earthquake's epicenter was in shallow waters off the northern coast of the island, approximately 68 kilometers northwest of the coastal town of Ende.

According to an reporter, residents of Nagekeo Regency, near the epicenter, witnessed a receding tide, believed to be a sign of a tsunami, early on the 15th and fled to higher ground.

Although the tsunami warning issued after the earthquake has been lifted, residents were warned not to return to damaged buildings due to the risk of collapse from aftershocks.

Dozens of aftershocks have already been recorded, the largest of which registered a magnitude of 6.1.