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The National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported at least 47 deaths following the earthquake that struck shortly before 05:00 local time on August 15 at a shallow depth of 15 kilometres. Its breakdown listed 24 fatalities in Manggarai province, 17 in East Manggarai, three in Sikka and at least one each in Ngada, Ende and West Manggarai, with two people seriously injured and 11 others sustaining slight wounds. Rescue teams worked through collapsed structures and landslides that blocked roads to remote villages in the mountainous region, where assessment efforts were slowed by difficult terrain. The United States Geological Survey placed the epicentre roughly 42 miles north-northwest of Ende city in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The agency’s assessment found more than 150 houses severely damaged along with dozens of schools, medical facilities, places of worship and government offices across the affected districts. In the port town of Maumere, concrete sections of the terminal building broke away and fell onto waiting passengers and vessels, according to video footage reviewed by multiple outlets. Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, stated that residents remained trapped inside several buildings while aftershocks continued to jolt the area. More than 900 homes and hundreds of additional structures sustained some level of harm from the initial tremor and the 341 recorded aftershocks that followed.
Over 5,000 people had moved into evacuation shelters by the following day and the agency distributed 10,500 aid packages focused on meeting immediate needs for food, water and temporary shelter. Officials advised residents to remain calm, avoid coastal areas and steer clear of any buildings showing visible damage as inspections continued. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency emphasised that providing logistics support to those displaced remained the top priority in the initial response phase.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena said many of those killed had been asleep when rubble from collapsing homes fell on them. In Talibura village, resident Arnold Welianto recalled that he was startled awake by the violent shaking and immediately checked on his child before joining others who fled to higher ground. Welianto added that many people had already headed into the hills after noticing the sea recede, a common precursor to tsunami waves. Another resident in Ruteng, Yulian Juita Ekalia, described the sensation as feeling like standing on a trampoline and said the experience left her family too frightened to return indoors.
BMKG data shows that Indonesia recorded more than 43,000 earthquakes throughout 2025, the vast majority below magnitude 5.0, underscoring the archipelago’s location along the Pacific Ring of Fire where several tectonic plates meet. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency has repeatedly highlighted the need for improved disaster preparedness in such a seismically active nation. This latest event serves as a reminder of the constant risks faced by communities in eastern Indonesia, which lies far from major tourist centres such as Bali roughly 600 miles to the west.
The tsunami warning issued immediately after the quake was lifted approximately three hours later once monitoring stations confirmed no significant sea level rise had occurred. Around 2,000 residents self-evacuated in the initial panic before the all-clear was given. Teams continued to monitor for further aftershocks that could trigger additional collapses in already weakened structures across the affected provinces.
