Powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia

A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake has struck Indonesia - with buildings and homes collapsing.

It hit the Flores region at a shallow depth of just 6.2 miles just before 6am local time (11pm UK time) - and was followed by several aftershocks.

Preliminary reports say at least five people have been killed, with the earthquake causing severe damage and collapsing buildings.

Residents were urged to stay away from beaches and riverbanks, with those on the coastline told to move to higher ground, but a tsunami warning was later lifted.

Footage on local television showed patients being evacuated as a precaution, with medics moving equipment including beds, IV stands and oxygen cylinders outdoors to temporary treatment areas to adapt to emergency conditions.

Saturday morning's incident caused panic in a region that is prone to deadly earthquakes, with much of Flores Island, east of the tourist islands of Bali and Lombok, feeling the quake.

Nona, a 51-year-old from Talibura, a village in East Nusa Tenggara, said: "The quake was massive, ‌the shock was so strong, we were resting at home with family. There were 13 of us inside the house and we ‌all ran to save ourselves."

Guidelbertus Tanga, the rector of St Peter Major Seminary in Sikka, said students were attending morning mass when the quake hit.

"At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake," he added.

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Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

An earthquake that struck Flores in December 1992 caused a tsunami that killed about 2,500 people.

(c) Sky News 2026: Powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Indonesia