Death Toll Rises to 51 in 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake in Indonesia

The death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province has risen to 51 people. At least 113 people were injured and around 5,000 people were evacuated. Indonesian Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus announced that 36 people were seriously injured and 77 people were lightly injured in the earthquake. A total of 341 aftershocks were recorded after the main earthquake. This earthquake has caused the highest number of fatalities in the country since the 2022 West Java earthquake, which killed hundreds of people. Indonesia's disaster management agency, BNPB, reported that around 5,000 people have been evacuated. In addition, more than 3,300 people were evacuated to safe areas in the Sikka region. More than 3,500 soldiers and police were deployed to support the operations in the region. The authorities have not yet announced the number of missing people. It is reported that most of the missing people are under the rubble, and more than 1,300 houses were damaged due to the earthquake.