RSUD Komodo Moves Patients to Emergency Tents After M7.7 Flores Quake

Labuan Bajo — RSUD Komodo in Labuan Bajo treated patients in emergency tents in its courtyard after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Flores on Saturday, 15 August 2026, moving care outside the main buildings as a precaution against aftershocks and potential structural hazards, according to local media and the Manggarai Barat administration.

Photo coverage published by Kumparan on Thursday, 20 August, shows patients lying on beds and receiving treatment in several tents erected in the yard of RSUD Komodo in Manggarai Barat, East Nusa Tenggara. Kumparan describes the tents as a temporary care area set up specifically to anticipate possible aftershocks following the 7.7-magnitude quake.

The Manggarai Barat government’s Info Mabar portal reports that, immediately after the quake on 15 August, RSUD Komodo and other health facilities in the regency evacuated and served patients outside their buildings to protect them from the risk of falling debris or further shaking. The site says the health department coordinated with the regency disaster management agency to establish emergency tents to support treatment in open areas.

Info Mabar cites acting RSUD Komodo director Paulus Ndarung as saying that once structural checks confirmed the building to be safe, patients who had been treated outside were moved back indoors to first-floor wards at 13:40 local time on the same day. The report characterises the outdoor treatment as a short-term emergency measure lasting several hours on the morning of the quake, rather than a long-term relocation of services.

National outlet RRI also reports that some RSUD Komodo patients were temporarily transferred from inpatient rooms to tents and open areas as part of the response to the earthquake. RRI notes that patients able to walk were later directed back to indoor wards, while those in critical condition who could not move independently were accommodated on the building’s ground floor.

Emergency response at RSUD Komodo

According to Kumparan, the tents at RSUD Komodo served as interim treatment spaces to reduce risk if further tremors hit, allowing doctors and nurses to continue care outside the main hospital structure. Similar descriptions appear in reports on other Labuan Bajo facilities, where patients were moved into open areas and tents in the hours after the quake.

Coverage by Merdeka and Liputan6 also notes that parts of RSUD Komodo’s building sustained damage, prompting staff to evacuate patients to the hospital courtyard and provide care in tents. These outlets describe the arrangement as a response to the structural impact of the quake as well as the risk of aftershocks.

Detik reports that combined teams from the military and police assisted medical staff in evacuating dozens of inpatients from RSUD Komodo and another Labuan Bajo hospital to emergency tents after the 15 August quake, and that at least one medical tent was set up in the RSUD Komodo yard.

Impact on services and tourism context

Info Mabar states that outdoor treatment at RSUD Komodo and other health facilities in Manggarai Barat was limited to the morning of 15 August, and that care later resumed inside hospital buildings once engineers cleared structures as safe. Kumparan’s 20 August photo feature nonetheless shows that tents remained available in the RSUD Komodo yard as a mitigation measure several days after the quake.

Kumparan also reports that RSUD Komodo temporarily closed its outpatient polyclinic services from 15 to 17 August, both as a result of the earthquake and to coincide with Independence Day commemorations, with clinics scheduled to reopen on Tuesday, 18 August.

In the wider Labuan Bajo area, the tourism ministry and the Labuan Bajo Flores authority coordinated the evacuation of hotel guests to safe outdoor assembly points, including the RSUD Komodo field, in the immediate aftermath of the quake. Authorities later reported that public facilities and transport services in Labuan Bajo had largely returned to normal conditions once safety checks were completed.

For residents and visitors, the use of emergency tents at RSUD Komodo formed part of a broader strategy to keep medical services functioning while managing seismic risks in one of Indonesia’s key tourism gateways.

Sources

• Kumparan - Foto: Antisipasi Gempa Susulan, Pasien Dirawat di Tenda Darurat
• Merdeka - Terdampak Gempa M 7,7 Pasien Rumah Sakit Dirawat di Tenda
• Liputan6 - Pasien Rumah Sakit Dirawat di Tenda Usai Gempa M 7,7
• Detik - TNI-Polri Evakuasi Puluhan Pasien di 2 Rumah Sakit Seusai Gempa Labuan Bajo
• Info Mabar (Manggarai Barat Government) - Dampak Gempa 7,7 SR, Pasien di Sejumlah Faskes di Mabar Dilayani Darurat di Luar Ruangan
• RRI - Fasilitas Publik dan Transportasi Kembali Normal Pascagempa di Labuan Bajo
• Urbanvibes - Kemenpar dan BPOLBF Pastikan Keselamatan Wisatawan dan Identifikasi Dampak Sektor Pariwisata Pasca-Gempa M 7,7 Flores