'Another chance to live': Flores residents recall Indonesia quake panic

Residents of Indonesia's Flores island experienced intense panic and chaos when a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the region early Saturday morning. The tremor, with its epicenter located just north of the island, sent shockwaves through towns and prompted immediate evacuations.

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The four of us - my husband, our two children, and I were on the bed

Melania Nius, 56, described the terrifying moments inside a hospital where her husband was a patient. As the earthquake hit around 5:30 a.m., the hospital room was violently shaken, with furniture and objects falling everywhere. She recounted praying for safety as she and her family, including her husband, struggled to evacuate the room amidst debris.

"The bed almost flipped over. Tables and all the things on the tables and on top of the cupboards all fell and scattered everywhere," Nius said. "We were panicking. When the shaking eased a little, we immediately pushed his bed and took him outside." She expressed profound gratitude for survival, stating, "Thank God, he has given us another chance to live."

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The bed almost flipped over. Tables and all the things on the tables and on top of the cupboards all fell and scattered everywhere. We were panicking.

In Ruteng, another survivor, Tonsianus Sambang, 31, was visiting his mother at the hospital when the quake struck. He described a scene of widespread panic, with some people jumping out of windows and others running outside. "Things were falling everywhere, so our main priority at that moment was how to evacuate the patients and get them out of that room," Sambang told AFP, adding that walls were collapsing and debris covered the floor.

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I just prayed: 'God, if you still give us the chance to live, please open a way for us'. Thank God, he has given us another chance to live.

Authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for the affected areas, causing further anxiety among the population. While the warning was later lifted, dozens of aftershocks kept residents on edge, many of whom evacuated their homes and stayed outside overnight. The hospital in Ruteng had to accommodate an influx of injured individuals, including Yoktafiana Sinar, 40, who sustained a broken leg when her house collapsed on her.

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So, we all started to panic; some people jumped out of windows, and some ran outside. Things were falling everywhere, so our main priority at that moment was how to evacuate the patients and get them out of that room.