Aid shortages and fears of starvation as Indonesia reels from deadly earthquake

What the report says

Aid shortages and continuing aftershocks are deepening the crisis on Indonesia’s Flores island after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck early Saturday, the BBC reports. At least 53 people were killed and about 5,000 displaced, with homes, hospitals, schools and government buildings damaged across several areas. The quake was shallow, which typically increases surface damage, and landslides have further hampered access to hard-hit communities.

According to the report, many survivors are sleeping outdoors out of fear that weakened buildings will collapse during aftershocks. In some places, damaged hospitals have had to move services into tents, while shortages of food, clean water and medical support are becoming a growing concern. Local residents and health workers quoted by the BBC said some villages had not yet received aid, and that road closures and blackouts were making evacuation and relief efforts difficult.

The BBC also said rescuers reached Nitung Village on Palue Island only after it had been cut off for nearly two days. Officials described the route as dangerous because of landslides, and reported severe damage to hundreds of homes there. Indonesia is especially vulnerable to earthquakes because it sits on major tectonic boundaries, and this event is the country’s deadliest since 2022, according to the BBC’s reporting.