NTT governor links Flores earthquake rebuilding to economic recovery

Labuan Bajo — East Nusa Tenggara Governor Melki Laka Lena has urged that economic recovery for communities affected by the Flores earthquake proceed in tandem with rehabilitation and reconstruction, highlighting the need to restore livelihoods for farmers and fishers alongside housing and infrastructure repairs, according to provincial and regency government statements.

Speaking at a coordination meeting with the West Manggarai Regency government in Labuan Bajo on Friday, 11 September 2026, Laka Lena said recovery should ensure that affected residents can resume economic activity and regain sources of income. At the meeting he stressed that the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction plan, known as R3P, must become the joint basis for rebuilding and for a safer, needs-based recovery, including support for small businesses.

Damaged mooring at Ndete

One documented case of damage to coastal infrastructure has emerged in Sikka Regency on the northern coast of Flores. Pos-Kupang reported that the motorboat mooring used by fishers at Ndete in Reroroja village, Magepanda district, Sikka, was heavily damaged by the magnitude 7.7 Flores earthquake on Saturday, 15 August 2026.

According to Sikka Transportation Agency head Jemi Sadipun, who inspected the Ndete facility on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, the earthquake left the mooring badly damaged, with cracked and collapsed sections that prevent fishing boats from berthing to land their catch. Fishers have continued working but must transfer fish at sea to smaller boats before bringing it ashore, a workaround that adds risk and effort to daily operations.

The report said the Sikka regency government was still assessing how to respond, while fishers were seeking government attention to rebuild the damaged structure. The extent of damage to other landing sites in Sikka and elsewhere in Flores has not been detailed in the available official and media reports.

Scale of the wider disaster

BNPB data published in early September show the broader impacts of the Flores earthquake across East Nusa Tenggara. A national media report citing BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari stated that as of 10 September 2026, 136 people had died as a result of the NTT earthquake, including direct and indirect fatalities. The same update said 102,384 houses were recorded as damaged to varying degrees in seven districts and cities.

BMKG said the main earthquake struck offshore Flores on 15 August 2026 and was followed by intense aftershock activity. In a release on 17 August, BMKG reported 1,624 aftershocks had been recorded by 11:00 WIB, with magnitudes between 1.3 and 6.2. Subsequent BMKG updates noted that aftershocks continued to climb, reaching more than 2,000 by 18 August and more than 15,700 within 30 days.

BMKG’s tsunami observations indicated that the earthquake generated tsunami waves at 16 sites across four provinces, including multiple locations in East Nusa Tenggara, with the highest recorded wave at Pota in East Manggarai. The tsunami and shaking produced damage across Flores, including in Manggarai Barat, Manggarai, Manggarai Timur and Sikka.

From emergency to recovery planning

At the Labuan Bajo coordination meeting, Governor Laka Lena commended West Manggarai Regency for rapidly completing its damage and victim data, describing the regency as a model for other districts on Flores. The meeting discussed three main strands of work: finalizing R3P for the whole of Flores, accelerating permanent housing and infrastructure repairs, and supporting economic recovery for residents, particularly farmers and fishers.

The governor said the provincial government would coordinate with banks and financial regulators to help affected small businesses and households regain access to financing. In agriculture, he pointed to planned assistance such as seeds, production equipment and post-harvest machinery, along with priority irrigation repairs, as examples of how physical reconstruction and economic measures should reinforce each other.

For the marine sector, the Ndete case illustrates how damage to a single landing structure can disrupt the flow of fish from sea to market. Provincial authorities have acknowledged that many of those affected by the earthquake are fishers and farmers, and have signalled that economic recovery programmes will need to reach these groups.

However, detailed public information on the number of affected fishing households, vessels and landing sites, or on specific reconstruction plans for coastal infrastructure, has yet to be set out in the official statements and reports examined.

As West Manggarai moves out of its initial emergency phase and Flores-wide R3P proposals are prepared for the central government, the challenge for coastal communities will be ensuring that damaged facilities such as the Ndete mooring are captured in reconstruction plans and supported by targeted livelihood assistance.

Sources

• Pos-Kupang / Tribunnews Kupang
• Golkarpedia
• Info Mabar – Government of Manggarai Barat Regency
• Biro Administrasi Pimpinan, Provincial Government of NTT
• BMKG – Flores tsunami aftershock update (news/press release)
• Kompas TV report on NTT earthquake impacts
• Bisnis.com – BNPB: Gempa Flores Mulai Menurun, Pengungsi Tinggal 72.864 Jiwa
• Wikipedia Bahasa Indonesia – Gempa bumi Flores 2026