A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores region, killing at least 38 people and injuring several others. The shallow earthquake triggered a tsunami warning, prompting coastal residents to evacuate to higher ground. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a depth of around 10 kilometres off the northern coast of Flores. Strong aftershocks followed, including one measuring 6.1 magnitude. Buildings and other structures were damaged, including a port structure that partially collapsed. Rescue teams searched through rubble for survivors and recovered victims as authorities assessed the extent of the destruction.

Tsunami waves measuring less than three feet were recorded in several areas before the warning was lifted around three hours after the earthquake.


Indonesia Earthquake: 7.7-Magnitude Quake Kills 38 | Tsunami Warning Issued, Buildings Collapse

A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia's Flores region, killing at least 38 people and triggering a tsunami warning that was later lifted. The earthquake struck at a shallow depth of around 10 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey.

Strong shaking was reported across parts of East Nusa Tenggara, while buildings and other structures were damaged. Rescue teams searched through collapsed buildings and rubble as authorities worked to evacuate residents and recover victims.

The powerful quake was followed by aftershocks, including one measuring 6.1 magnitude. Tsunami waves of less than three feet were recorded in some areas before the warning was lifted.

Watch this report for the latest updates on the Indonesia earthquake, Flores damage, casualties, tsunami warning and ongoing rescue operations.

Indonesia Earthquake: 7.7-Magnitude Quake Kills 38 | Tsunami Warning Issued Then Lifted 

A passenger ferry carrying 271 people caught fire in the Java Sea while sailing from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

According to Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), five people have been confirmed dead, while 41 remain missing as rescue operations continue. Emergency teams are working to evacuate passengers and crew after the vessel caught fire during its journey.

Authorities say the captain alerted the ferry company shortly after the blaze broke out, triggering a large-scale search and rescue mission involving multiple emergency agencies.

Indonesia Ferry Fire: 5 Dead, 41 Missing After Passenger Ferry Catches Fire in Java Sea

Rescuers picking through the grim aftermath of Indonesia's quake-tsunami issued a fresh public health warning Saturday as more decaying corpses were unearthed from beneath the ruined city of Palu.

More than a thousand people may still be missing in the seaside city on Sulawesi island, officials said, after the region was hit by a powerful quake and a wall of water, with the official death toll now at 1,571.

Hopes of finding anyone alive a full eight days since the disaster have all but faded, though Indonesian authorities have not officially called off the search for survivors.

There are fears that vast numbers of decomposing bodies could be buried beneath Petobo and Balaroa -- two areas virtually wiped off the map -- and authorities have warned survivors to steer clear as they brace for more macabre discoveries.

"Most of the bodies we have found are not intact, and that poses a danger for the rescuers. We have to be very careful to avoid contamination," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue effort, told AFP from Palu.

"We have vaccinated our teams, but we need to be extra cautious as they are exposed to health hazards. This is also a health concern for the public. It is very hard to control the crowd... People might be exposed to danger."

'Just bodies'

At a massive government housing complex at Balaroa, where the sheer force of the quake turned the earth temporarily to mush, soldiers in face masks clambered over the giant mounds of mud, brick and cement.

The troops peeking under collapsed walls and peeling back corrugated sheets do not have to look hard.

Sergeant Syafaruddin, from an army unit in Makassar south of Palu, asks for a body bag to be brought across to a spot near where the remnants of an Islamic school now stands.

Two of his soldiers emerge from the ditch with the body bag sagging in the middle but looking too light to be a corpse -- they say they found the heads of two adults and one child.&nbsp;

"There are no survivors here. We just find bodies, every day," says Syafaruddin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

At another spot, a digger is called to turn over the devastated remains of a home. With almost no effort he unearths the body of a long haired lady buried in mud.

At the flattened Hotel Roa-Roa -- where early optimism that survivors might be found faded as the days wore on and tropical heat intensified -- search teams also prepared body bags.&nbsp;

Rescuers reviewed CCTV footage Saturday to get a sense of where the doomed guests could be buried beneath the impenetrable mountain of twisted rubble.

Short supplies

Survivors have ransacked shops and supply trucks in the hunt for basic necessities, prompting security forces to round up dozens of suspected looters and warn that they will open fire on thieves.

Hundreds of people Saturday rushed a truck carrying gas cylinders for cooking, with long and desperate queues quickly forming.&nbsp;

One supermarket that opened its doors refused to allow people inside, instead passing goods through the door as armed troops stood watch.

"We have not raised prices at all. However, we are not letting customers inside for safety reasons. The building survived the earthquake, but we don't know how safe it is," said Satria Hamid, a spokesman for the Transmart Carrefour supermarket.

Thousands of survivors continued to stream out of Palu to nearby cities in the aftermath of the disaster.

Hospitals remain overstretched and short on staff and supplies.

Project HOPE, a medical NGO, said only two of its 82 staff in Palu had reported for duty since the quake.

"We still don’t know the fate of the clinic doctors, nurses and technicians who usually staff the clinic," the organisation said in a statement.

A floating hospital run by the Indonesian navy and docked in Palu port has already assisted with the delivery of a baby, local media reported.

Aid trickles in

The United Nations said Friday it was seeking $50.5 million "for immediate relief" to help victims of the devastating quake and tsunami in Indonesia.

After days of delays, international aid is slowly making its way to the disaster zone, where the UN says almost 200,000 people need humanitarian assistance.

Indonesia had been reluctant to accept outside help at first but as the scale of the disaster became clear the government agreed to allow in foreign aid. 
Getting vital supplies to the affected areas has proved hugely challenging, with the number of flights able to land at Palu's small airport still limited, leaving aid workers facing gruelling overland journeys.

Oxfam had sent water treatment units and purification kits to Palu and Swiss aid teams on the ground were providing drinking water and emergency shelter, both said in statements Saturday.

Indonesia sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", the world's most tectonically active region, and its 260 million people are vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

Rescuers picking through the grim aftermath of Indonesia's quake-tsunami issued a fresh public health warning Saturday as more decaying corpses were unearthed from beneath the ruined city of Palu.

Rescuers picking through the grim aftermath of Indonesia's quake-tsunami issued a fresh public health warning Saturday as more decaying corpses were unearthed from beneath the ruined city of Palu. More than a thousand people may still be missing in the seaside city on Sulawesi island, officials said, after the region was hit by a powerful quake and a wall of water, with the official death toll now at 1,571. Hopes of finding anyone alive a full eight days since the disaster have all but faded, though Indonesian authorities have not officially called off the search for survivors. There are fears that vast numbers of decomposing bodies could be buried beneath Petobo and Balaroa -- two areas virtually wiped off the map -- and authorities have warned survivors to steer clear as they brace for more macabre discoveries. "Most of the bodies we have found are not intact, and that poses a danger for the rescuers. We have to be very careful to avoid contamination," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue effort, told AFP from Palu. "We have vaccinated our teams, but we need to be extra cautious as they are exposed to health hazards. This is also a health concern for the public. It is very hard to control the crowd... People might be exposed to danger." 'Just bodies' At a massive government housing complex at Balaroa, where the sheer force of the quake turned the earth temporarily to mush, soldiers in face masks clambered over the giant mounds of mud, brick and cement. The troops peeking under collapsed walls and peeling back corrugated sheets do not have to look hard. Sergeant Syafaruddin, from an army unit in Makassar south of Palu, asks for a body bag to be brought across to a spot near where the remnants of an Islamic school now stands. Two of his soldiers emerge from the ditch with the body bag sagging in the middle but looking too light to be a corpse -- they say they found the heads of two adults and one child. "There are no survivors here. We just find bodies, every day," says Syafaruddin, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. At another spot, a digger is called to turn over the devastated remains of a home. With almost no effort he unearths the body of a long haired lady buried in mud. At the flattened Hotel Roa-Roa -- where early optimism that survivors might be found faded as the days wore on and tropical heat intensified -- search teams also prepared body bags. Rescuers reviewed CCTV footage Saturday to get a sense of where the doomed guests could be buried beneath the impenetrable mountain of twisted rubble. Short supplies Survivors have ransacked shops and supply trucks in the hunt for basic necessities, prompting security forces to round up dozens of suspected looters and warn that they will open fire on thieves. Hundreds of people Saturday rushed a truck carrying gas cylinders for cooking, with long and desperate queues quickly forming. One supermarket that opened its doors refused to allow people inside, instead passing goods through the door as armed troops stood watch. "We have not raised prices at all. However, we are not letting customers inside for safety reasons. The building survived the earthquake, but we don't know how safe it is," said Satria Hamid, a spokesman for the Transmart Carrefour supermarket. Thousands of survivors continued to stream out of Palu to nearby cities in the aftermath of the disaster. Hospitals remain overstretched and short on staff and supplies. Project HOPE, a medical NGO, said only two of its 82 staff in Palu had reported for duty since the quake. "We still don’t know the fate of the clinic doctors, nurses and technicians who usually staff the clinic," the organisation said in a statement. A floating hospital run by the Indonesian navy and docked in Palu port has already assisted with the delivery of a baby, local media reported. Aid trickles in The United Nations said Friday it was seeking $50.5 million "for immediate relief" to help victims of the devastating quake and tsunami in Indonesia. After days of delays, international aid is slowly making its way to the disaster zone, where the UN says almost 200,000 people need humanitarian assistance. Indonesia had been reluctant to accept outside help at first but as the scale of the disaster became clear the government agreed to allow in foreign aid. Getting vital supplies to the affected areas has proved hugely challenging, with the number of flights able to land at Palu's small airport still limited, leaving aid workers facing gruelling overland journeys. Oxfam had sent water treatment units and purification kits to Palu and Swiss aid teams on the ground were providing drinking water and emergency shelter, both said in statements Saturday. Indonesia sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire", the world's most tectonically active region, and its 260 million people are vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.

Disease fears as more bodies found in Indonesia disaster

The search and rescue agency has stated that over 1,000 people may still be missing in Indonesia disaster.

Search teams made desperate last-ditch efforts Friday to find survivors, a week on from Indonesia's devastating quake-tsunami, as the death toll from the disaster rose above 1,500.

The city of Palu on Sulawesi island has been left in ruins after being hit by a 7.5 magnitude quake and a &nbsp;wall of water, which flattened homes, ripped up trees and overturned cars.

After days of delays, international aid has finally started to arrive in the disaster zone, where the UN says almost 200,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Survivors have ransacked shops and supply trucks in the hunt for basic necessities, prompting security forces to round up dozens of suspected looters and warn that they will fire on thieves.

Authorities previously set a tentative deadline of Friday for finding anyone trapped under ruined buildings, although chances of pulling survivors alive from the rubble at such a late stage are almost zero.

Local military spokesman Muhammad Thohir said that the death toll had risen to 1,558, up about 100 from the previous official figure.

Over 1000 people are still unaccounted for, while hundreds of bodies have been buried in mass graves in a bid to avert a disease outbreak from corpses rotting in the tropical sun.

Search efforts focused on eight key locations Friday, including a beach and the Balaroa area where the sheer force of the quake turned the earth temporarily to mush.

"We have to use heavy equipment now because it is very difficult to sift through the rubble by hand," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue agency, told AFP.

At the badly damaged Mercure hotel on Palu's waterfront, there was growing frustration among a French and Indonesian search team.

The rescuers, using sniffer dogs and scanners, had detected what they believed was a person under mounds of rubble the previous evening but when they resumed the hunt early Friday, any signs of life had disappeared.

&nbsp;

The search and rescue agency has stated that over 1,000 people may still be missing in Indonesia disaster. Search teams made desperate last-ditch efforts Friday to find survivors, a week on from Indonesia's devastating quake-tsunami, as the death toll from the disaster rose above 1,500.

The search and rescue agency has stated that over 1,000 people may still be missing in Indonesia disaster. Search teams made desperate last-ditch efforts Friday to find survivors, a week on from Indonesia's devastating quake-tsunami, as the death toll from the disaster rose above 1,500. The city of Palu on Sulawesi island has been left in ruins after being hit by a 7.5 magnitude quake and a wall of water, which flattened homes, ripped up trees and overturned cars. After days of delays, international aid has finally started to arrive in the disaster zone, where the UN says almost 200,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Survivors have ransacked shops and supply trucks in the hunt for basic necessities, prompting security forces to round up dozens of suspected looters and warn that they will fire on thieves. Authorities previously set a tentative deadline of Friday for finding anyone trapped under ruined buildings, although chances of pulling survivors alive from the rubble at such a late stage are almost zero. Local military spokesman Muhammad Thohir said that the death toll had risen to 1,558, up about 100 from the previous official figure. Over 1000 people are still unaccounted for, while hundreds of bodies have been buried in mass graves in a bid to avert a disease outbreak from corpses rotting in the tropical sun. Search efforts focused on eight key locations Friday, including a beach and the Balaroa area where the sheer force of the quake turned the earth temporarily to mush. "We have to use heavy equipment now because it is very difficult to sift through the rubble by hand," Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Indonesia's search and rescue agency, told AFP. At the badly damaged Mercure hotel on Palu's waterfront, there was growing frustration among a French and Indonesian search team. The rescuers, using sniffer dogs and scanners, had detected what they believed was a person under mounds of rubble the previous evening but when they resumed the hunt early Friday, any signs of life had disappeared.

Over 1000 may still be missing in Indonesia disaster: Rescue agency