Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 40 and toppling buildings

MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 47 people, collapsing buildings and causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes. Authorities said dozens more residents were injured and warned that the death toll would almost certainly rise.Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s meteorological agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that posed a threat to coastal communities. Some smaller tsunamis were reported.The U.S.

Geological Survey said the quake hit eastern Indonesia's Flores region at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) at 5:58 a.m. Its epicenter was 68 km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.The quake triggers landslides and generates small tsunamisThe meteorological agency said the quake was followed by at least 235 aftershocks, with the largest recorded at magnitude 6.2.The agency's sea-level monitoring stations acknowledged some small tsunamis reached coastal villages in Manggarai and East Manggarai regencies. Videos obtained by The Associated Press showed the coastal village of Riung in Ngada regency blanketed in mud and debris after what the agency described as a 1.61-meter (5.3 feet) tsunami.

Fishing boats were stranded ashore, infrastructure damaged, and homes surrounded by sediment left by receding waters.Waves measuring 0.94 meters (3.1 feet) were observed in Maurole, Ende Regency.Tsunami waves exceeding 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) were detected in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, and Sape in Bima Regency.A strong, land-based earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit North Sumatra province in western Indonesia on Saturday afternoon, according to the USGS. It struck 172.5 kilometers (107 miles) beneath the earth’s surface, meaning it was too deep to cause significant damage or casualties, Indonesian authorities said.The quake has caused buildings to collapseEast Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko said power outages hampered the spread of information about the impact of the earthquake in cities and villages, complicating search and rescue efforts.“We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said. He said quake-triggered landslides in End…

Authorities said dozens of residents were injured.Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s meteorological agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that would pose a threat to coastal communities.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit Indonesia's Flores region with a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) at 5:58 a.m. He said power outages in cities and villages have hampered information flow and complicated search and rescue efforts.“We are continuing to collect reports of damage and casualties, but there are communication disruptions,” Darmoko said.

He said landslides in Ende regency triggered by the earthquake also cut off the Trans-Flores highway, a roughly 700-kilometer (435-mile) paved mountain road spanning Flores Island, from Labuan Bajo to Larantuka.The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency Fathur Rahman said rescuers have recovered at least 40 bodies, mostly in the three devastated regencies of Sikka, Manggarai…