Images from around La Guaira, Venezuela show the extent of damage following back-to-back major earthquakes on Wednesday night. The death toll is expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue.
INDONESIA – A major magnitude 7.7 earthquake, followed by a series of aftershocks, rattled Indonesia’s coast and triggered a tsunami warning, marking one of the strongest earthquakes recorded worldwide so far this year as the Pacific Ring of Fire remains active.
At least five earthquakes rattled the waters off Indonesia’s Flores region, with the strongest, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, striking at 4:58 a.m. local time Saturday off the northern coast of East Nusa Tenggara, roughly 68 kilometers north-northwest of Ende.
A tsunami warning was issued by Indonesia’s Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics for parts of West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake.
According to the USGS, the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers, or about 6.2 miles.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake was followed by several aftershocks, all occurring in the early morning hours local time on Saturday.
Roughly 15 minutes after the main shock, at 5:13 a.m., a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck about 36 kilometers northeast of Labuan Bajo.
At 5:18 a.m., a magnitude 5.6 aftershock was recorded roughly 61 kilometers north-northwest of Ende and about 7 kilometers from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake.
Major earthquake and several aftershocks rattle Indonesia
(FOX Weather)
Ten minutes later, at 5:28 a.m., a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in the same area, roughly 58 kilometers north of Ende.
Another aftershock followed at 5:37 a.m., when a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck off the coast, about 49 kilometers northeast of Labuan Bajo.
According to the USGS tectonic summary, the earthquake resulted from reverse faulting at a shallow depth in a region with a long history of seismic activity.
“The earthquake is located in a seismically active area dominated by convergence between the Australia and Sunda plates,” the summary said.
According to the USGS, since 1950, there have been 37 other earthquakes of magnitude 6 and greater, including five other earthquakes of magnitude 7 and larger within 250 km of the August 14, 2026, earthquake. In 1992, a M7.8 earthquake occurred just 63 km east-southeast of the August 14, 2026, earthquake. The 1992 earthquake and resulting tsunami destroyed tens of thousands of homes and resulted in at least 2500 casualties.
