BNPB clarifies 94 Flores quake deaths were indirect, not direct trauma

Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur — Indonesia’s disaster agency has clarified that 94 people who were previously counted as post-earthquake deaths in Flores did not die from direct trauma caused by the quake, but from illness-related complications while in evacuation shelters, according to agency briefings reported by multiple outlets.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency, known as BNPB, said the 94 victims were among 142 casualties recorded after the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Flores in mid-August. Officials said 48 people were killed directly by the disaster, while the 94 later deaths occurred indirectly in shelters after the quake.

BNPB’s clarification came after a joint verification and validation process with the Health Ministry across seven affected regencies, according to local reporting. The agency said most of the 94 were elderly people with pre-existing chronic illnesses, including stroke and diabetes.

Damage and displacement remain concentrated in several regencies, with Nagekeo and Manggarai among the hardest hit areas in BNPB updates. Separate reporting based on BNPB data said Nagekeo alone had recorded 20 deaths, 173 injuries, 6,936 evacuees and 5,216 damaged houses, while national tallies of displaced residents and damaged homes ran into the tens of thousands across the wider impact zone.

The quake’s aftermath has also drawn scrutiny because the death figures changed as authorities completed verification of casualties and housing damage. BNPB data cited by local and national outlets show the disaster affected seven regencies in East Nusa Tenggara, including Nagekeo, Manggarai, Ende, Sikka, Ngada, Manggarai Barat and Manggarai Timur.

Sources

• RRI.co.id
• Tribun Kupang
• The Jakarta Post