VIDEO: A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia caused widespread destruction, with fatalities reported

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed at least five people off Indonesia’s Flores Island early Saturday, damaging buildings and triggering a tsunami warning that was later lifted, Al Jazeera reported.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck at 5:58am local time, or 21:58 GMT Friday, with its epicentre about 68km north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The USGS put the depth at 10km. Three aftershocks of magnitude 5.9, 5.6 and 6.1 followed within half an hour.

East Nusa Tenggara police chief Rudi Darmoko said preliminary reports showed two deaths in Sikka Regency and three in Manggarai Regency. He said the quake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings, while outages in cities and villages hampered information flows and complicated search and rescue work. Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said the five people died from collapsing rubble as they slept.

Officials expect the death toll to rise as emergency teams continue work. Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency urged residents in affected coastal areas to stay away from beaches and riverbanks and move to higher ground before lifting its tsunami warning. Reporting from Jakarta, Jessica Washington said local weather agencies warned aftershocks could persist for “several days” and that residents in northern parts of the island had been ordered to evacuate.

Washington said the extent of the damage was still “emerging”. “Many houses have been damaged,” she said, adding that several affected areas remained “locked” to first responders and assistance. Local media footage showed extensive building damage, with areas around Maumere sustaining severe impact.

USGS estimates suggested more than half a million people on Flores likely experienced very strong shaking, while several million more across the wider region felt moderate to strong shaking. Indonesia has more than 270 million people spread across roughly 17,000 islands and sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. The same stretch of coastline was hit by a similarly powerful quake in December 1992, when the quake and the tsunami it triggered killed more than 2,500 people on Flores.