Reok Traders Face Slow Recovery After 7.7 Flores Quake and Tsunami

Labuan Bajo — Small businesses in Reok, northern Manggarai, are rebuilding trading routines after the 15 August Flores earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the local market and forced roadside commerce to a standstill, according to local media and Indonesia’s meteorological agency.

The earthquake, measured at magnitude 7.7 by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), struck offshore Flores on Saturday, 15 August 2026, at 04:58 WIB and generated a tsunami affecting coastal districts in Nusa Tenggara Timur and neighbouring provinces, BMKG said in multiple releases.

BMKG reported strong shaking in Manggarai and Manggarai Barat regencies, with intensities reaching VII on the Modified Mercalli scale in parts of Manggarai, including Reok. National and local media described significant casualties and structural damage in Manggarai, particularly in Reok and Reok Barat, where at least several residents were reported killed when buildings collapsed.

Market damaged, traders pause operations

A 3 September 2026 report by regional newspaper Flores Pos described Reok’s public market area as a landscape of damaged buildings in the weeks after the earthquake.[Flores Pos] The market, previously a central meeting point for buyers and sellers, was portrayed as reduced to ruins, with stalls and kiosks damaged or unusable.[Flores Pos]

According to the Flores Pos account, many micro and small traders who had operated kiosks attached to or near their homes stopped selling after the quake, citing damage to their premises and continuing fear of aftershocks.[Flores Pos] Roadside sellers of retail fuel using plastic bottles along Reo’s main roads were also reported to have suspended activity in the immediate aftermath.[Flores Pos]

The same report described Reo, the capital of Reok district, as resembling a deserted town for around 10 days after the main shock, with streets unusually quiet and normal trading patterns disrupted.[Flores Pos] The portrayal aligns with BMKG’s assessment that the quake and its aftershocks caused building damage across Manggarai and Manggarai Barat, prompting authorities to urge residents to stay cautious around weakened structures.

Aftershocks unsettle return to commerce

BMKG recorded thousands of aftershocks following the 15 August event, including a series of quakes strong enough to be felt in Reok and Reok Barat, some reaching intensity IV on the Modified Mercalli scale. BMKG and national outlets reported that these continued into early September, though their frequency and strength gradually declined.

Flores Pos noted that traders’ reluctance to reopen was driven not only by physical damage but also by anxiety over repeated shaking.[Flores Pos] For small shopkeepers and informal vendors, the distinction between structural safety and perceived risk influenced decisions about returning to business even in buildings that remained standing.

BMKG and national coverage indicated that government agencies and local administrations were coordinating reconstruction and recovery efforts across Flores, including Manggarai. However, the Flores Pos article did not detail specific assistance programmes for Reok’s market traders or identify which individual businesses had resumed operations by early September.[Flores Pos]

Early signs of economic recovery

Despite the damaged surroundings, Flores Pos reported that some economic activity was beginning to reappear among ruined buildings by early September, with residents slowly returning to buy and sell basic goods.[Flores Pos] The report framed this as the first signs of recovery rather than a full reopening.

BMKG and national media emphasised that Manggarai was among the regencies hardest hit by the quake and tsunami, recording dozens of deaths, hundreds of injuries and widespread damage to homes and public facilities. In this context, the condition of Reok’s public market and surrounding businesses offers a local indicator of how quickly everyday commerce can resume after a major disaster.

As of the first week of September 2026, available reporting from Flores Pos and national outlets confirms that:

• A magnitude 7.7 offshore earthquake struck Flores on 15 August 2026, triggering a tsunami and thousands of aftershocks.
• Manggarai, including Reok and Reok Barat, experienced strong shaking and building damage, with fatalities reported from collapsed structures.
• Reok’s public market area was described by Flores Pos as heavily damaged, with many kiosks and roadside fuel sellers ceasing operations in the days after the quake.[Flores Pos]
• By early September, some buying and selling had resumed amid damaged buildings, but the scale of business reopening in Reok had not yet been quantified.[Flores Pos]

Sources

• BMKG press release on Flores aftershocks and impacts
• RCTI+ report on Flores aftershocks
• Merdeka.com report on casualties and damage after the Flores quake
• Metro TV article explaining isoseismal map of NTT quake
• RRI Ende news on M7.7 Flores quake and tsunami warning
• Flores Pos