HEYBALI – The death toll from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Flores has climbed to 73, as search and rescue teams continue working through a disaster zone spread across seven regencies on the island, including areas bordering the gateway region to Komodo National Park.
As of 6 p.m. local time Wednesday, August 19, confirmed fatalities stood at 73, with a combined 931 people suffering severe or minor injuries, according to Fathur Rahman, head of the Maumere search and rescue office.
Manggarai and East Manggarai Account for Most of the Losses
The heaviest toll has fallen on Manggarai Regency, where 27 people have died, alongside 32 severely injured and 104 with minor injuries. Most of the casualties there are concentrated in the Reo area.
East Manggarai Regency follows closely behind with 24 confirmed deaths, but stands out for its dramatically higher injury count: 198 people severely injured and 421 with minor injuries, figures that suggest a region where buildings sustained heavy structural damage even where residents survived.
Elsewhere across Flores, Nagekeo Regency has recorded 11 deaths, 13 severe injuries, and 9 minor injuries. Sikka Regency has reported 5 deaths, 18 severe injuries, and 22 minor injuries. Ende Regency has recorded 2 deaths, 5 severe injuries, and 67 minor injuries. Ngada Regency has reported 2 deaths, 17 severe injuries, and 19 minor injuries.
In West Manggarai Regency, home to Labuan Bajo and the main gateway to Komodo National Park, authorities have confirmed 2 deaths, 2 severe injuries, and 4 minor injuries, comparatively lower figures that still place the island’s main tourism corridor within the earthquake’s broader impact zone.
A Medical Airlift for an Elderly Patient With a Skull Fracture
Among Wednesday’s rescue operations, a joint search and rescue team carried out a medical evacuation by Basarnas helicopter for Adelina Ndimas, 77, a resident of East Manggarai who sustained a skull fracture in the earthquake.
“The victim was evacuated from the Damer medical post in Satar Padut Village, North Lambaleda, East Manggarai,” Fathur said.
Ndimas was flown to Komodo Regional General Hospital in Labuan Bajo, the same hospital that serves as the primary medical facility for the tourism hub and surrounding communities, for further treatment.
Helicopters Ferrying Medical Teams and Supplies to Remote Areas
A Basarnas Dauphin helicopter also departed from Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo bound for Pota district, transporting five health workers along with medical supplies from Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, part of an ongoing effort to reach communities cut off by damaged roads and infrastructure following the quake.
Joint search and rescue teams have continued sweeping earthquake-affected areas across Flores in search of anyone still trapped beneath collapsed structures, though Wednesday’s efforts yielded no additional survivors. In East Manggarai, search operations focused on Dampek hamlet in Satar Padut Village. In Manggarai Regency, teams concentrated their efforts around Reo district. Search and rescue personnel in Riung, Ngada Regency, carried out sweeps while coordinating directly with local communities, and teams in Mbay, Nagekeo Regency, continued working through surrounding villages.
For the international community connected to Labuan Bajo, whether through tourism, hospitality work, or long-term residence, West Manggarai’s relatively lower casualty figures offer some reassurance, though the region remains part of an active, multi-district disaster response, with recovery operations across neighboring regencies still shaping road access and medical capacity along the tourism corridor.
