Basarnas: Manggarai Timur Severely Hit, 55 Dead After Earthquake

Manggarai Timur in Indonesia has been devastated by a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) confirming that 55 people have died and 132 others sustained injuries. The region is among the hardest hit following the tremor that struck Flores on Saturday.

Basarnas Chief, Air Marshal TNI Mohammad Syafii, accompanied by Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, personally visited the affected area on Monday. Their visit to the Posko Desa Ronting in Lamba Leda Utara sub-district was aimed at overseeing the ongoing post-disaster response operations.

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Manggarai Timur is one of the areas quite severely affected by the earthquake. We continue to strive to ensure that search and rescue operations are carried out maximally to help the affected community.

"Manggarai Timur is one of the areas quite severely affected by the earthquake. We continue to strive to ensure that search and rescue operations are carried out maximally to help the affected community," Syafii stated. During their visit to an evacuation post, Syafii offered psychological support and safety advice to the residents, urging them to remain vigilant against potential aftershocks and to avoid structurally unsound buildings.

The disaster response is a large-scale, coordinated effort. A total of 711 personnel from various elements, including the TNI, Polri, BPBD, BMKG, PMI, the Ministry of Transportation, Pelindo, Pelni, local governments, and the community, are involved. Basarnas has committed to maintaining 24-hour search and rescue operations across all affected areas, deploying 119 personnel to various districts and utilizing helicopter support to aid in the recovery efforts.

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We must help each other and strengthen each other. In conditions like this, togetherness between the government, SAR personnel, and the community is very necessary so that the handling process can proceed well.