Powerful 7.7 earthquake strikes Flores Island in Indonesia
15 August 2026
Plan Indonesia is deploying emergency assessment teams following a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in the east of Indonesia, early Saturday morning.
The earthquake centered 30 km northeast of the town of Mbay where early reports say over 30 people have been killed and many others have been injured.
Homes and schools, and caused landslides that cut off critical supply routes, including the Trans Ende-Bajawa highway. Although an initial tsunami warning has been lifted, access to remote communities remains severely restricted.
Plan Indonesia are responding to the emergency and has sent teams to assess the damage across five targeted areas: Sikka, Nagekeo, East Manggarai, Bajawa and Lembata, alongside Manggarai.
Teams are working with local partners to identify the immediate needs of affected children, families and vulnerable communities.
“Disasters of this scale do not just destroy infrastructure they shatter children’s sense of safety, Our immediate priority is verifying the welfare of children in hard-hit communities and delivering essential relief to those cut off by landslides” said Dini Widiastuti, Executive Director of Plan Indonesia.
As part of its initial emergency intervention, Plan International Indonesia is providing psychosocial support, distributing safe drinking water ,shelter kits and Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) kits.
The response will include community feedback and accountability mechanisms, to ensure that the voices, priorities and concerns of affected communities directly informs operations.
“Disasters can dramatically increase protection risks for girls, disrupting their education, limiting access to safe spaces, increasing the risk of gender-based violence, and creating serious sanitation and hygiene challenges. In any emergency, girls face unique and heightened risks, which is why humanitarian efforts must prioritise their health, safety, dignity and protection from the very beginning and throughout recovery,” said Dini Widiastuti, Plan International Indonesia.
Plan Indonesia calls on local authorities and humanitarian partners to ensure childcentric protection measures are embedded throughout emergency relief and recovery operations.
