Powerful 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia; 1 dead, 4 injured
The quake was followed by multiple powerful aftershocks.
A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, killing at least one person, knocking down some buildings and leading hundreds to evacuate amid fears of a tsunami, officials said.
In addition to the person who was killed, four others were injured, Indonesia's national disaster management agency said in a statement on social media. Initially, the agency said two people had been killed.
Emergency crews, including members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, were conducting evacuations and assessing damage.
The agency said the earthquake, which struck shortly before 5 a.m. local time, was strongly felt across the province of East Nusa Tenggara.
The quake initially triggered fears of a tsunami, and a warning from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, issuing alerts to stay away from beaches and calls for people to evacuate. However, those warnings later expired, according to the Associated Press.
Before then, about 2,000 residents in the Nagekeo Regency on the Flores island "carried out self-evacuation as a precautionary measure after the earthquake and due to the early warning of a tsunami," the disaster management agency said.
The earthquake's epicenter was located about 60 kilometers north-northwest of Ende in Indonesia's Flores region at a depth of about 10 kilometers, according to USGS.
There were a number of strong aftershocks reported nearby, including a 6.1 quake and a 5.9 quake also north of Ende, according to the USGS.
Photos from the area showed damage to buildings.
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