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Residents evacuated after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Nagekeo, in Marapokot village in eastern Indonesia, rest in outdoor tents on the 17th (local time). Thousands were forced to evacuate to schools, police stations, and government buildings after the powerful earthquake hit eastern Indonesia, with many displaced residents still living outdoors as of that day, waiting for relief supplies. / AFP-Yonhap

The death toll from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck near Flores Island in eastern Indonesia has risen to 54. Rescue operations continued on Independence Day, the 17th (local time), even as relief supplies have yet to reach some affected villages.

According to Reuters, Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said that day that 54 people died and 135 were injured in the earthquake, which struck Flores Island on the 15th. In East Nusa Tenggara Province, more than 900 homes collapsed and an additional 450 or more were damaged.

Rescue teams are searching six areas across Flores Island for survivors who may be buried under landslides. The three hardest-hit areas — Manggarai, East Manggarai, and Nagekeo — remain difficult to access. Fathur Rahman, head of the Maumere search and rescue office, said that while crews have cleared most of the landslides and reopened roads to isolated villages, communication outages and power cuts continue to hamper rescue efforts.

Authorities have deployed more than 3,500 military and police personnel and declared a state of emergency. Rahman said that starting that day, efforts would focus on aerial search operations using helicopters and clearing debris. BNPB has also prepared aircraft to transport food and tents. Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus said field hospitals are being set up, adding that neurosurgeons and orthopedic specialists are urgently needed.

Still, relief supplies have yet to reach many villages. A farmer in Ranukolo village near Ende told Reuters that around 70 residents are living without clean water, and children are suffering from diarrhea and other ailments, adding that they have not received any support yet. Residents who lost their homes are living in pickup trucks or on the street, pleading for assistance.

Since the initial earthquake struck in the early hours of the 15th, nearly 1,600 aftershocks have followed through that day, including a magnitude 5.6 aftershock that morning. Indonesia, located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, experiences frequent earthquakes; Flores Island itself was struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1992 that killed about 2,500 people.

                                                                                                              Jeong Ri-na