15th August 2026 – (Jakarta) At 5.58am local time, a powerful earthquake struck the Flores region of Indonesia, with initial readings placing the magnitude in the high‑7 range. Indonesia’s Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) measured the event at magnitude 7.7 and reported a relatively shallow focus, while Germany’s national geoscience centre, GFZ, also reported a major quake in the area as agencies compiled early data. The United States Geological Survey likewise assessed the event as magnitude 7.7. BMKG issued an early tsunami warning covering East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and Southeast Sulawesi as officials evaluated coastal risk and advised communities to follow local guidance.
Preliminary coordinates placed the epicentre south of the equator and east of 121 degrees longitude in the Flores zone, a seismically active segment of the Indonesian archipelago where large events are not uncommon. Depth estimates varied across monitoring networks — a typical occurrence in the first hours after a major quake — and were being refined as additional seismic and geodetic data arrived from regional stations and global arrays.
