7.7 Quake Hits Indonesia, Tsunami Warning Issued

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said tsunami modeling showed potential waves in East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara provinces. The alert covered waves from 0.5 meters to three meters (1.6 to 9.8 feet), BMKG earthquake and tsunami director Wijayanto said.

An AFP correspondent in Maumere on Flores Island, about 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) from the epicenter, reported residents evacuating to higher ground and the sea receding – a common precursor to a tsunami. Indonesian television showed hundreds evacuating in nearby Nagekeo regency, alongside images of damaged buildings.

Authorities reported no casualties, though tsunami waves between 19 and 30 centimeters had been detected.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of intense seismic activity from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. A 9.1-magnitude quake off Sumatra in 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 people across the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia. In 2018, a 7.5-magnitude quake and tsunami in Palu on Sulawesi island left more than 4,300 dead or missing.