Shocking footage: Indonesia's coastline retreats before 0.9-meter tsunami hits after 7.7 earthquake

A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia near the Flores region early Thursday morning, prompting a tsunami warning for several areas. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued the alert following the tremor.

Initial reports indicated the earthquake's magnitude was 7.6, but the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) have since revised it to 7.7. The epicenter was located at 121.35 degrees East longitude and 8.31 degrees South latitude, with a reported depth of 10 kilometers by USGS and 20 kilometers by EMSC.

Social media platform X saw the circulation of videos capturing the dramatic moments before the tsunami struck. One clip shows a significant receding of the coastline, a clear precursor to the wave. Another video, filmed from a boat, depicts an incoming tsunami wave. Indonesian authorities have dispatched search and rescue teams, and at least two fatalities have been confirmed as a result of the earthquake.

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Footage shows the sea receding along Indonesia's coastline following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake.