Jakarta, August 16, 2026 — The Europe Today: Indonesia’s Ministry of Social Affairs has mobilized emergency personnel and relief supplies worth more than Rp4.5 billion (over US$250,000) following a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Saturday.
Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf said the ministry was coordinating with central and regional authorities to support evacuation efforts and distribute essential supplies to communities affected by the 15-kilometre-deep tectonic earthquake.
The relief assistance includes 6,000 packages of ready-to-eat meals, 1,624 portions of children’s food, 600 family kits, 1,700 roll-up tents, 780 mattresses, 233 field beds, 93 family tents, 24 multipurpose tents and four large tents.
The ministry has also dispatched 800 hygiene kits, thousands of garments for adults and children, 10 portable emergency lamps, 104 sets of kitchen equipment, supplies for public kitchens and worship kits.
Yusuf said the distribution operation was being supported by ministry facilities in Bekasi, West Java, and Kupang, NTT, as well as a warehouse managed by the NTT Social Affairs Office.
To strengthen the emergency response, the ministry has deployed personnel from various units, including Tagana disaster-response volunteers. The volunteers are assisting with damage assessments, evacuations and the identification of urgently required goods and services.
“Our teams will continue to assist residents. We will support evacuation and provide victims with temporary shelters while meeting their basic needs,” Yusuf said.
The minister added that authorities had prepared essential logistics for temporary shelters, with displaced residents gathering at evacuation locations in Mbay in Nagekeo District, Maumere in Sikka District, Borong in East Manggarai District and Ruteng in Manggarai District.
He said the governor and heads of affected districts had also taken measures to respond to the disaster, while comprehensive assessments of the earthquake’s impact remained underway.
The earthquake was centered in Nagekeo and struck Flores Island early Saturday, with tremors reported across neighboring islands.
According to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the death toll had risen to 47 by Saturday night, with fatalities reported in Manggarai, East Manggarai, Sikka, Ngada and Ende.
The BNPB has also mobilized 275 tons of relief supplies after the earthquake damaged 346 homes and 116 public facilities, as emergency response and humanitarian assistance operations continue across the affected areas.
