Jakarta, Aug. 15 (SANA) The death toll from a magnitude 7.7 earthquake off Indonesia’s Flores island rose to 38 on Saturday from an earlier count of 20, while 13 people were injured, the country’s disaster agency said.
National Disaster Management Agency chief Suharyanto told a news conference that 38 people had been confirmed dead, while two people were seriously injured and 11 sustained minor injuries, according to AFP.
About 2,000 people left the area on their own initiative, Suharyanto said.
Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake but lifted it shortly afterward.
Authorities had earlier reported 20 deaths and six injuries from the earthquake off Flores in eastern Indonesia.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami killed about 2,200 people in Palu in 2018.
In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed about 170,000 people in Indonesia and around 50,000 in neighboring countries.
F.J./M.F.
