NPR Updates Indonesia Earthquake Death Toll

NPR has updated the death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck off Indonesia's coast. The article initially reported at least 38 deaths, but was later updated to at least 47. The change was made in several instances throughout the article, including a revised Associated Press report. The update reflects a significant increase in confirmed fatalities. The article also added new details about the aftermath of the earthquake, including reports of dozens of injured residents, smaller tsunamis, and widespread damage. The updates provide a more accurate picture of the disaster's impact on the region.

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Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 20 +834 -764
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− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 38 A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 38 people, collapsing buildings as well as causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Magnitude 7.7 earthquake off Indonesia's coast kills dozens A powerful earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, collapsing buildings as well as causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes.
− Asia Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 38 Updated August 15, 20265:40 AM ET Originally published August 15, 20264:29 AM ET By The Associated Press In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers attempt to clear debris at building damaged by an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug.
+ Asia Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, killing at least 47 Updated August 15, 20265:40 PM ET Originally published August 15, 20264:29 AM ET By The Associated Press In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers attempt to clear debris at building damaged by an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug.
15, 2026.
− BASARNAS via AP hide caption MAUMERE, Indonesia — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, killing at least 38 people, collapsing buildings and homes as well as causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes.
+ BASARNAS via AP hide caption MAUMERE, Indonesia — 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 more than a dozen residents were injured.
+ 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 Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that would pose a threat to coastal communities.
+ 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 Indonesia's Flores region with a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) at 5:58 a.m.
+ Geological Survey said the quake hit eastern Indonesia's Flores region at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) at 5:58 a.m.
local time. Its epicenter was 68 km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province.
− The initial quake was followed by several aftershocks.
− The head of the National Disaster Management Agency, Suharyanto, said rescuers have recovered at least 38 bodies, mostly in the three devastated regencies of Sikka, Manggarai and East Manggarai, including 16 bodies that were pulled from a landslide in the village of Reok in Manggarai.
+ The 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.
− At least 13 people were rushed to nearby hospitals, including two with serious injuries.
+ 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.
− Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said three helicopters and a rescue vessel were deployed to assist with logistics and support emergency response operations, including possible evacuations if needed, given East Nusa Tenggara's geography, which consists of numerous islands and presents significant transportation and access challenges.
+ Waves measuring 0.94 meters (3.1 feet) were observed in Maurole, Ende Regency.
− He said about 2,000 villagers in Nagekeo regency fled their homes to temporary shelters.
+ Tsunami waves exceeding 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) were detected in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, and Sape in Bima Regency.
− East Nusa Tenggara Police Chief Rudi Darmoko said the earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings.
+ A strong, land-based earthquake of 6.9 magnitude hit North Sumatra province in western Indonesia on Saturday afternoon, according to the USGS.
− He said power outages in cities and villages have hampered the flow of information and complicated search and rescue efforts.
+ 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.
+ East 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 that 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.
+ He said quake-triggered landslides in Ende regency blocked 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 Disaster Management Agency, Suharyanto, said rescuers have recovered at least 47 bodies, mostly in Sikka, Manggarai and East Manggarai, and at least 50 people were taken to hospitals. Suharyanto, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said the quake flattened at least 157 houses and damaged nearly 200 more, forcing about 2,000 villagers to abandon their homes and move to temporary shelters. The powerful temblor also destroyed more than 100 public facilities, including schools, medical centers and churches. The death toll could rise because landslides triggered by the earthquake buried or cut off many remote villages across six regencies on Flores Island, said Fathur Rahman, who heads the Search and Rescue Office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka. Some remote villages are completely buried, he said, and damaged infrastructure and a lack of heavy equipment were hindering rescue efforts. Authorities deployed three helicopters and a rescue vessel to support logistics and emergency response operations, including potential evacuations. East Nusa Tenggara consists of numerous islands and presents significant transportation and access challenges.
A man examines the damage to a building following an earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026.
− Kurniawan/AP hide caption Footage on local television showed patients at several hospitals being evacuated from buildings as a precaution following the quake. Hospital staff moved equipment outdoors, including beds, IV stands and oxygen cylinders, and set up temporary treatment areas to adapt to emergency conditions.
+ Kurniawan/AP hide caption The quake was felt across much of Flores island with initial reports indicating heavy damage.
− The quake was felt across much of Flores island with initial reports indicating heavy damage.
+ Yohanna Embu, who lives in Sikka, said people ran in a panic to higher ground.
− Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka regency, said a number of buildings were damaged by the strong shaking and panicked people ran to higher ground.
"Many buildings here were damaged ... I saw that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere had collapsed," she said. Students at St.
− Peter Major Seminary in Sikka who were attending morning Mass fled in panic when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, said the Rev.
+ Peter Major Seminary in Sikka who were attending morning Mass fled when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, said the Rev.
− Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, which is known locally as Ritapiret Seminary on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.
+ Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, known locally as Ritapiret Seminary on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.
"Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof," Tanga said.
− "At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake." The quake also reportedly caused panic in Labuan Bajo, a gateway town to eastern Indonesia's Komodo National Park, one of the country's best-known attractions.
+ "At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake." The quake also struck Labuan Bajo, a gateway town to eastern Indonesia's Komodo National Park, one of the country's best-known attractions.
− Damage was also reported in Bima, a city in neighboring West Nusa Tenggara province, and in some parts of southern Sulawesi island.
+ Damage was reported in Bima, a city in neighboring West Nusa Tenggara province, and in parts of southern Sulawesi island.
Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces, and urged residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks. The agency located the shallow undersea quake near Flores island. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
− A powerful earthquake caused a tsunami in 1992 that killed about 2,500 people on Flores, part of a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia.
+ Most notably, a powerful earthquake caused a tsunami in 1992 that killed about 2,500 people on Flores, part of a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia, while in 2018, a magnitude 7.5 quake spawned a large localized tsunami that wiped out coastal areas, killing more than 4,400 people.
− In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 quake spawned a large localized tsunami that wiped out coastal areas, while liquefaction caused by the shaking turned entire neighborhoods into rivers of sludge in the eastern Indonesian city of Palu, on the Palu-Koro Fault. The disaster killed more than 4,400 people. In 2010, a 10-foot (three-meter) wave struck the Mentawai Islands, off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, just minutes after a massive offshore earthquake. More than 400 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed.
In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor