A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian coast early Saturday, collapsing buildings and homes, killing at least two people and causing panic in a region prone to deadly earthquakes. Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said monitoring showed no significant changes in sea level that could pose a threat to coastal communities. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake hit the Indonesian region of Flores with a depth of 10 kilometers at 5:58 a.m. local time. Its epicenter was 68 kilometers (42 miles) northwest of the city of Ende, in East Nusa Tenggara province. The initial earthquake was followed by several aftershocks. Preliminary reports from the Maumere Search and Rescue Agency said at least two residents were killed and two others injured when the earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings, according to Indonesia’s disaster management agency. Local television images showed patients from several hospitals being evacuated from buildings as a precaution after the earthquake. Hospital staff moved equipment outside, including beds, IV poles and oxygen cylinders, and set up temporary treatment areas to accommodate emergency conditions. In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims in a building damaged after an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday, August 15, 2026. BASARNAS via AP A man examines damage to a building after an earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday, August 15, 2026. AP Photo/Kurniawan Earthquake felt on Flores Island Get the latest national news Get the latest Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you don’t miss any breaking news. The earthquake was felt across much of Flores Island and initial reports indicated severe damage. Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka, a regency within East Nusa Tenggara province, said several buildings were damaged by the strong tremor and panicked people ran to higher ground. “Many buildings here were damaged… I saw that the waiting room at the Maumere port terminal had collapsed,” he said. Students at St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka attending morning mass fled in panic when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, said the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, known locally as Ritapiret Seminary, on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores. “Our students and nuns fled in panic under a collapsing roof,” Tanga said. “At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the earthquake.” More about the world More videos Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for parts of the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi, and urged residents to stay away from beaches and river banks. The agency located the shallow underwater earthquake near the island of Flores. 2:42 Indonesia earthquake: Rescuers search for survivors after deadly earthquake on Sulawesi island Earthquake-prone Indonesia Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity due to its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific basin. In 1992, a powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed about 2,500 people on Flores, part of a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake generated a large localized tsunami that devastated coastal areas, while liquefaction caused by the tremor turned entire neighborhoods into rivers of mud in the eastern Indonesian city of Palu on the Palu-Koro fault. The disaster killed more than 4,400 people. In 2010, a 10-foot (three-meter) wave hit the Mentawai Islands, off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, just minutes after a massive offshore earthquake. More than 400 people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed. In December 2004, a massive 9.1 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. © 2026 The Canadian Press