Thousands of individuals in Flores, Indonesia, were still in need of assistance on Monday following a strong earthquake that resulted in a death toll of at least 68, with over 200 individuals injured and numerous homes and structures damaged. Residents in East Nusa Tenggara province’s Flores island were in mourning and awaiting aid in areas isolated by the quake’s impact.

Rasyid Jafar, a resident of the hardest-hit village of Reo in Manggarai regency, described his house as rubble and emphasized the urgent requirement for food, medicine, and clean water. President Prabowo Subianto requested prayers for those affected during Indonesia’s Independence Day ceremony in Jakarta.

The earthquake, which struck East Nusa Tenggara province at a depth of 10 kilometers early on Saturday, resulted in damage to over 4,500 homes, displacement of 19,000 individuals into shelters, and injuries to 213 people. The disaster also affected health facilities, schools, and places of worship.

Over 1,500 aftershocks were recorded by authorities, with a state of emergency declared by the province’s governor. In the aftermath, thousands of people camped outside collapsed homes on Flores, with fallen trees, boulders, and damaged buildings creating widespread devastation. Rescue efforts and aid distribution were hindered by logistical challenges.

Emergency field hospitals were set up in Ruteng to treat victims, and rescue teams continued searching for survivors. Aid workers reached Palue Island, near the quake’s epicenter, after a challenging journey through landslide-affected areas, providing critical assistance to isolated residents. Indonesia’s history of seismic activities, due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” has made it susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Past disasters in Indonesia, such as the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 1992 on Flores, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake, and the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, have left a lasting impact on the nation.