Earthquake in Indonesia leaves at least 47 dead. There are 500 Italians on the island of Flores: ‘The tremors are continuing’
The epicentre of the earthquake was located 126 kilometres south-east of Medan, the island’s capital
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that “through its Crisis Unit and in close coordination with the Italian Embassy in Jakarta, it is constantly monitoring developments in Indonesia following the violent earthquakes that have struck the country, causing casualties and extensive damage, particularly on the island of Flores. “There are around 5,000 Italian citizens in Indonesia,” the statement explains. “Of these, around 500 are on the island of Flores, the area hardest hit by the earthquake. The Embassy and the Crisis Unit are working to ascertain the situation of Italian nationals in the area. At present, there are no reports of Italian citizens among the victims.”
Thirteen people from Bologna stranded on the island of Flores; the tremors continue
“At the moment, seismic activity is continuing further north, but we’ve moved further west; fortunately, the situation here is safer. We’re now in a hotel in Labuan Bajo, as recommended by the Italian Embassy. The tremors are continuing, but it seems the risk of a tsunami has passed. It’s night-time here, so we’ll be monitoring all the websites.” Speaking is entrepreneur Francesco Geminiani, who, along with 12 other tourists from Bologna, is on the island of Flores in Indonesia, where an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck on the eve of Ferragosto. “Our hotel has sustained a few cracks, but nothing serious; it’s quite safe. Flights to Italia tomorrow are, of course, all fully booked; even the embassy tried to find a seat but was unable to do so. However, we’ve found a flight tomorrow at 6 pm that will take us to Bali. First we’ll have to fly to Java and from there we’ll go on to Bali, where the situation seems much calmer.” Geminiani and the other Bolognese tourists were on a boat in the Komodo archipelago when the first tremor struck.
“We were on a boat at 4 this morning when the earthquake struck. At 5.30, the guides who were with us warned us about the tsunami warning, which had just been issued. At that point, we made our way to the shore in the nearest village and from there took a vehicle that took us further up the coast and then straight to the airport.” The businessman from Bologna and the other tourists are in constant contact with the Italian Embassy in Jakarta. “We’ll spend the night on high alert, monitoring the situation.”
Another strong earthquake in Sumatra
This time, it was the island of Sumatra that was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale, according to the USGS, the United States Geological Survey.
The epicentre of the earthquake was located 126 kilometres south-east of Medan, the island’s capital. There are currently no reports of casualties or damage.
