BMKG: 8 Regions in NTT and South Sulawesi on Tsunami Alert

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has placed eight regions in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and South Sulawesi on tsunami alert status following a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake. The tremor struck Nagekeo in NTT on Saturday morning.

According to the Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System (Inatews), the majority of the eight high-alert areas are located in NTT. These include northern parts of North Manggarai, Ngada, West Manggarai, and Ende, with estimated tsunami arrival times starting around 5:02 AM Western Indonesian Time (WIB). Selayar and Jeneponto in South Sulawesi, along with Bantaeng, are also on alert, with arrival times extending to 5:46 AM WIB.

BMKG urged provincial and local governments in the "Siaga" (alert) status areas to immediately direct residents to evacuate. Earlier, BMKG had issued initial tsunami warnings for NTT, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), and South Sulawesi. The agency's modeling indicated a potential tsunami threat to these regions, with wave heights possibly reaching between 0.5 to 3 meters in some areas.

Areas like Flores Timur, Bima, Dompu, and Wajo are on "Waspada" (watch) status, anticipating tsunami waves of up to 0.5 meters. The earthquake's epicenter was near Mbay Nagekeo, NTT.