Darilaut – At least 462 buildings, including houses and public facilities, sustained damage following a magnitude (M) 7.7 earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara on Saturday morning (August 15).
Preliminary data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) as of Saturday at 17:00 WIB (Western Indonesian Time) indicates that 157 houses were heavily damaged, 41 moderately damaged, and 148 lightly damaged.
Damage also affected public facilities, including 87 educational facilities, 18 health facilities, 5 places of worship, 6 offices, and various other public amenities.
The BNPB also recorded 47 fatalities. As of Saturday evening at 18:48 WIB, the victims were identified across the following regencies: Manggarai (24 people), East Manggarai (17), Sikka (3), West Manggarai (1), Ngada (1), and Ende (1).
In addition to the fatalities, personnel have evacuated and provided medical treatment to the injured.
Emergency Response
BNPB Head Lt. Gen. Dr. Suharyanto has urged regional heads to declare a disaster emergency response status. This is to be followed by the activation of command posts to ensure that response efforts are coordinated, integrated, and effective.
The BNPB Head stated that activating command posts in the affected regencies facilitates the coordination of impact assessment, search and rescue operations, and the management of displaced persons if necessary.
