Magnitude 7.7 quake off Flores kills at least 38, agency count 47
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Flores Island in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province at 5:58am local time on August 15, 2026, killing at least 38 people by early wire counts and 47 by the national disaster agency’s tally, with the district nearest the epicentre still cut off by landslides
The three lines
- Location and time — 68km north-northwest of Ende, East Nusa Tenggara; 5:58am local (21:58 GMT Friday); depth 10km per USGS
- Deaths — at least 38 in early counts, 47 per the national disaster agency (BNPB). Neither figure is final while rescue continues
- Damage — 157 homes destroyed, 41 moderately and 148 lightly damaged; 87 schools, 18 health facilities, five places of worship and six government buildings hit
Key questions
- Where did the Indonesia earthquake hit?
- Off Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, with the epicentre about 68 kilometres north-northwest of the city of Ende. The US Geological Survey put the depth at 10 kilometres. It struck at 5:58am local time on Saturday, August 15, 2026 — 21:58 GMT on Friday. A shallow hypocentre matters: at the same magnitude, the shallower the source, the harder the shaking that reaches the surface.
- How many people were killed?
- It depends on the count you are reading. Early wire reports put the toll at least 38; the national disaster management agency, BNPB, reported 47. Neither is final. Rescue operations are still under way, and crucially, teams have not reached Nagekeo — the district closest to the epicentre — because landslides blocked the roads and communications went down. Damage there may not be reflected in either figure.
- Was there a tsunami?
- A tsunami warning was issued and lifted about three hours later. Waves under one metre were recorded in several areas, so the worst case for a magnitude 7.7 undersea quake was avoided. This article was not able to confirm why the waves were small — the fault mechanics have not been established here. Dozens of aftershocks shook Flores through the day, the strongest at magnitude 6.1, and a separate magnitude 6.9 quake struck western Sumatra later the same day.
It was 5:58 in the morning on a Saturday. Most people were still asleep.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off Flores Island in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province.
1. The coordinates
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 7.7 |
| Local time | 5:58am, Saturday August 15, 2026 |
| GMT | 21:58, Friday August 14 |
| Epicentre | ~68km NNW of Ende, East Nusa Tenggara |
| Depth | 10km (USGS) |
Ten kilometres is shallow. At a given magnitude, a shallower source delivers harder shaking to the surface. The relationship between magnitude and energy — one whole number of magnitude is roughly 32 times the energy — is set out in "How strong is a magnitude 7.4 earthquake," written when a quake hit Colombia on August 12. Between 7.4 and 7.7 the energy difference is about 2.8 times.
2. Two death tolls
| Source | Deaths |
|---|---|
| Early wire counts | At least 38 |
| National disaster agency (BNPB) | 47 |
Neither number is final. Rescue work continues, and decisively, teams have not reached Nagekeo, the district closest to the epicentre. Landslides blocked the roads and communications were cut.
When counts diverge, this page does one thing: print both, and name the counting body. The same problem arose with the Colombia earthquake, where the final toll ended far above the first count.
3. What came down
| Category | Destroyed | Moderate | Light |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes | 157 | 41 | 148 |
| Facility | Damaged |
|---|---|
| Schools | 87 |
| Health facilities | 18 |
| Places of worship | 5 |
| Government buildings | 6 |
The number worth pausing on is 87 schools. It is smaller than the 157 destroyed homes, but it has to be read against the timing. Had this been a weekday at midday, those 87 buildings would have had children inside them.
The 18 damaged health facilities are an immediate constraint on the response: the buildings meant to receive the injured are themselves damaged.
4. The tsunami warning lasted three hours
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Warning | Issued, lifted after about three hours |
| Observed waves | Under one metre in several areas |
The worst case for an undersea 7.7 was avoided. But this article cannot explain why. The fault mechanics — how the rupture actually moved — have not been established here.
5. Aftershocks, and a second quake
Dozens of aftershocks shook Flores through the day. The strongest reached magnitude 6.1.
Later the same day a separate magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck western Sumatra, more than 2,000 kilometres to the west. Whether the two events are geologically related is not confirmed.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the belt of converging plates where earthquakes and volcanoes concentrate. Few countries have more of that belt running through them.
6. What is not settled
The final toll is unknown. The count sits between 38 and 47 and will move again when Nagekeo opens up.
Aftershocks have not stopped. While tremors of magnitude 6 and above continue, already-damaged buildings can come down.
No information on foreign nationals. No announcement covering casualties among visitors or residents from abroad was found at the time of writing.
How earthquake magnitude scales is explained in "How strong is a magnitude 7.4 earthquake — one point of magnitude is 32 times the energy."
Sources
- Al Jazeera — At least 38 killed as magnitude 7.7 quake hits Indonesia
- NBC News — Magnitude-7.7 quake hits off coast of Indonesia, killing at least 47
- NPR — Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 38
- CNBC — Death toll rises after Indonesia's magnitude 7.7 earthquake, officials say
- CNN — Dozens dead and hundreds flee after powerful earthquake hits Indonesia
- ABC News — 2nd earthquake hits Indonesia following powerful magnitude 7.7 quake
- Fox Weather — Tsunami warning issued after magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocks Indonesia