Flores Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 70 as Aid Reaches Isolated Villages
Five days after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake tore through Indonesia's Flores Sea, the Flores earthquake death toll stood at 70 as of Wednesday, August 19, with disaster officials warning the number could still climb.
Crews are cutting their way into the last isolated communities of East Nusa Tenggara province. More than 40,000 people remain in tents and evacuation shelters, and relief convoys are only now reaching villages that landslides sealed off for days.
What Happened on August 15
The quake struck at 5:58 a.m. local time on Saturday, its rupture centered roughly 68 kilometers north-northwest of the coastal city of Ende, at a depth of about 10 kilometers. That shallow depth, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, is what allowed the shaking to hit the surface with far more for...