Indonesian Twin Quakes Claim 38 Lives as Fresh 6.8-Magnitude Tremor Hits Sumatra

At least 38 people have been killed and thousands forced into temporary shelters after a pair of powerful earthquakes struck opposite ends of Indonesia within hours of each other on Saturday.

A heavy 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck northern Sumatra at a depth of 158 kilometres late Saturday afternoon, compounding panic across the archipelago following a devastating 7.7-magnitude shallow quake off the coast of Flores island in East Nusa Tenggara early in the morning.

Landslides and Rubble Block Rescuers in Flores

The early morning tremor off Flores sparked widespread destruction, triggering landslides that severed major transport arteries and cut off power across affected districts. Emergency responders faced immediate hurdles reaching Nagekeo, the regency nearest the epicentre, where mudslides buried roadways and snapped communication links.

Social media footage and eyewitness accounts showed entire structures reduced to dust, with hospital staff wheeling patients onto open streets and terrified residents fleeing into open fields.

"The quake was massive, the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family," said Nona, a 51-year-old resident of Talibura in Sikka Regency. "There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves."

Search operations intensified in Reok village in Manggarai Regency, where responders retrieved eight bodies from a massive hillside collapse. Rescuers from the Maumere Search and Rescue Agency are currently digging through mud to locate two missing villagers feared buried beneath the landslide.

Seminary Roof Collapses During Mass

The violent shaking triggered structural collapses across religious and public institutions. At the St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, seminarians and clergy ran for their lives when the roof of the main assembly hall caved in during morning prayers.

"Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof," said the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary. "At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake."

Initial coastal evacuation orders were issued alongside a temporary tsunami warning after the tremor hit at 3.28 am IST. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) lifted the alert three hours later after tide gauges recorded no dangerous sea-level surges.

Sumatra Hit by Deep Secondary Shakers

As disaster teams rushed medical supplies and tents to East Nusa Tenggara, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) registered a separate 6.8-magnitude earthquake off northern Sumatra. While the deep focal depth of 158 kilometres mitigated immediate surface destruction on Sumatra, the consecutive seismic activity has put emergency services nationwide on high alert.

Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirmed that over 2,000 displaced residents have been relocated to makeshift relief centres as aftershocks continue to ripple through the region.