Two Indonesian quakes kill at least 47 with tremors reaching Thailand
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake off eastern Indonesia killed at least 47 people, while a separate magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Northern Sumatra was felt across six southern Thai provinces.
- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake in eastern Indonesia killed at least 47 people and caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.
- A second, unrelated magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Northern Sumatra later the same day.
- Tremors from the Northern Sumatra quake were felt across six provinces in southern Thailand, but no casualties were reported from this event.
Two separate earthquakes struck Indonesia on Saturday (August 15, 2026), one off the country’s eastern region and another in Northern Sumatra.
The magnitude 7.7 eastern quake killed at least 47 people, while the magnitude 6.8 Sumatran quake was felt across six southern Thai provinces.
Deadly earthquake strikes eastern Indonesia
Dozens of aftershocks followed the eastern earthquake, while rescue teams were unable to reach Nagekeo, the region nearest the epicentre.
Landslides had cut road access and disrupted mobile communications.
Attempts to enter Nagekeo by road failed, while another team was trying to reach the area by ferry, Fathur Rahman told Reuters.
About 2,000 Nagekeo residents evacuated.
Warehouses and government buildings were damaged, while parts of the regency experienced power cuts and traffic congestion.
BNPB head Suharyanto reported that people remained trapped inside several buildings across the affected area.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena told a press conference that at least five people died when buildings collapsed as they slept.
In Maumere, Fathur, who heads the local Search and Rescue Office, had earlier reported 20 deaths and six injuries, with two other people trapped beneath rubble.
The port town is the main urban centre of Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia.
A preliminary BNPB assessment classified 157 homes as heavily damaged, 41 as moderately damaged and 148 as lightly damaged.
The earthquake also damaged 87 schools, 18 health facilities, five places of worship, six office buildings and other infrastructure.
Residents flee to safety
Nona, 51, fled her home in Talibura village in East Nusa Tenggara with 12 other people.
“The quake was massive, the shock was so strong,” she said. “There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves.”
Near the port in Maumere, Siti Sulfia Bira, 37, headed for higher ground with her family when the tremors began.
“At the moment we don’t dare to go home just yet because the situation isn’t stable; we still worry that there might be more tremors coming,” she told Reuters.
Strong shaking was reported across East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara and parts of South Sulawesi.
Residents in several areas reported that the tremors continued for about a minute.
“Most of the people felt the shock and scattered out of their homes,” BNPB said.
A Facebook video verified by Reuters as having been filmed at a port in Maumere showed part of a building collapsing into dust and rubble as people screamed and ran along the street.
Rescue workers later searched beneath the partly collapsed port building for survivors.
Kompas TV footage showed patients being moved outside a hospital in Ende district in East Nusa Tenggara, while Kompas.com reported at least one landslide.
Tsunami waves of less than 1 metre (3 feet) were recorded in several parts of Indonesia after the early-morning earthquake.
Authorities lifted the tsunami warning about three hours later, while Australia’s tsunami warning centre reported “no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories”.
Previous destructive earthquakes
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded the earthquake at 4.58am (9.58pm GMT) at a depth of 15 kilometres (9 miles).
The agency noted that a magnitude 7.5 earthquake caused extensive destruction in the same area in 1992.
Indonesia lies along the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, where converging tectonic plates cause frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami struck Palu on Sulawesi island, killing more than 4,000 people.
Separate Sumatra quake felt in southern Thailand
In a separate incident later the same day, the Earthquake Observation Division of the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) reported a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, at 5.54pm.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 175 kilometres, with its epicentre about 417 kilometres southwest of Mueang Satun district in Satun province.
It was unrelated to the earlier deadly earthquake off eastern Indonesia.
In its second earthquake bulletin, the TMD placed the epicentre at latitude 3.03000 and longitude 99.11000.
The department estimated that areas near the epicentre could experience a maximum intensity of levels 8–9 on the Mercalli scale, with severe building damage and possible partial collapses.
Residents reported feeling the tremors at the following locations across six southern Thai provinces:
- Khlong Thom Nuea subdistrict, Khlong Thom district, Krabi.
- Krasae Sin subdistrict, Krasae Sin district, Songkhla.
- Bo Yang subdistrict, Mueang Songkhla district, Songkhla.
- Hat Yai subdistrict, Hat Yai district, Songkhla.
- Kantang subdistrict, Kantang district, Trang.
- Palian subdistrict, Palian district, Trang.
- Phatthalung District, Phatthalung.
- Pa Phayom subdistrict, Pa Phayom district, Phatthalung.
- Khlong Khut subdistrict, Mueang Satun district, Satun.
- Ko Sarai subdistrict, Mueang Satun district, Satun.
- Kathu subdistrict, Kathu district, Phuket.
Source: Reuters
