Jakarta.- Indonesian authorities raised the death toll to 83 this Friday following the earthquake of magnitude 7.7 recorded last Saturday on the island of Flores, which has left 986 injured and caused millions in damages in the southeast of the archipelago.
According to the latest update from the Local Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the number of evacuees has risen to nearly 111,000 people, partly due to fear among the population of the strong aftershocks that continue to shake this island, which has about two million inhabitants.
Indonesia’s meteorological agency (BMKG) indicated, for its part, that since the tremor six days ago, more than 4,250 aftershocks have been recorded, with magnitudes ranging between 1.1 and 6.2.
The authorities also estimate that nearly 45,000 homes were affected by the earthquake, including more than 17,100 with severe damage.
Saturday’s earthquake, which triggered waves nearly a meter high, occurred around 6:00 a.m. local time about 62 kilometers northwest of Ende, the most populous city on Flores with nearly 90,000 inhabitants, and at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors seismic activity worldwide.
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Indonesia is located in the so-called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity due to the convergence of several tectonic plates.
In 2004, following a 9.1 magnitude earthquake, Indonesia experienced a devastating tsunami that left nearly 167,000 dead -the vast majority on the eastern island of Sumatra-, as well as another 55,000 deceased in 13 countries across Asia and Africa.
