Manggarai Barat council shifts plenary sessions after Flores M7.7 quake

Labuan Bajo — Plenary sessions of the Manggarai Barat Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) have been moved from the main second-floor chamber to a smaller room on the first floor after the building was damaged by the magnitude 7.7 Flores earthquake on Saturday, 15 August 2026.

The second floor, including the main plenary hall, suffered visible damage such as collapsed ceiling panels and cracked walls, according to acting DPRD secretary Maria Ignasia Dedy Djeha in comments reported by detikBali on Monday, 24 August 2026.

Djeha, who is also known as Nancy, said much of the damage in the plenary room was concentrated in the ceiling, while other parts of the second floor showed significant cracking.

Because of the damage and the ongoing risk of aftershocks, DPRD leaders decided that the plenary session scheduled for Monday, 24 August would be held in a smaller internal room on the building’s first floor, detikBali reported.

Sessions moved for easier evacuation

Djeha said the relocation was agreed with the DPRD leadership and was intended to prioritize the safety and comfort of council members and invited officials.

She explained that holding the meeting on the first floor would make evacuation easier if another quake struck during the session, given that aftershocks were still being recorded in Flores at the time.

Only a limited number of council members and representatives of regional government agencies attended the relocated plenary session, according to detikBali.

Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said the main quake struck Flores at 04:58 WIB on 15 August 2026 with an updated magnitude of 7.7 and a shallow depth of around 15 kilometres.

BMKG reported that the earthquake and ensuing tsunami caused damage across several districts, including Manggarai Barat, affecting homes, public facilities and some government buildings.

Damage concentrated on second floor

In Manggarai Barat, the DPRD building is among the structures whose damage has been publicly documented.

Djeha described extensive damage on the second floor, including fallen ceiling panels and cracked walls, with the plenary hall affected mainly at the ceiling level.

The first floor, where the temporary meeting room is located, was used to continue legislative business while reducing exposure to the damaged upper level and facilitating faster exit routes.

Key details reported by local media and BMKG include:

• Earthquake magnitude: 7.7
• Earthquake date: Saturday, 15 August 2026
• Primary affected area of the DPRD building: second floor, including plenary hall
• Temporary plenary location: smaller internal room on the first floor

Safety assessments and repair plans

As of the 24 August report, there has been no publicly reported formal declaration that the entire DPRD building is unsafe.

The local account cited by detikBali describes precautionary measures taken by the council leadership but does not refer to a completed structural engineering assessment.

BMKG, in its national briefings, has warned residents in affected areas to remain cautious around damaged structures because of the continuing sequence of aftershocks following the Flores quake.

No local authority has yet publicly detailed the repair budget, funding source or timetable for restoring the damaged second-floor plenary hall and other affected parts of the DPRD building.

For now, council sessions that would normally take place in the main chamber are being held in the first-floor room as Manggarai Barat continues its broader recovery from the August earthquake and tsunami.

Sources

• detikBali
• BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency of Indonesia)