Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's coast, toppling buildings and killing at least 2

MAUMERE, Indonesia (AP) — A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early Saturday, collapsing buildings and homes, killing at least two people and causing panic in a region prone to deadly quakes.

Authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged coastal residents to move to higher ground, but later lifted the warning when Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency said monitoring showed no significant sea-level changes that would pose a threat to coastal communities.

The U.S Geological Survey said the quake hit Indonesia's Flores region with a depth of 10 kilometers at 5:58 a.m. local time. Its epicenter was 68 km (42 miles) north-northwest of the city of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The initial quake was followed by several aftershocks.

Preliminary reports from the Maumere Search and Rescue Agency said that at least two residents were killed and two others injured as the earthquake caused severe damage and collapsed buildings, according to Indonesia's disaster management agency.

Footage on local television showed patients at several hospitals being evacuated from buildings as a precaution following the quake. Hospital staff moved equipment outdoors, including beds, IV stands and oxygen cylinders, and set up temporary treatment areas to adapt to emergency conditions.

The quake was felt across much of Flores island with initial reports indicating heavy damage.

Yohanna Embu, a resident of Sikka, a regency within East Nusa Tenggara province, said a number of buildings were damaged by the strong shaking and panicked people ran to higher ground.

“Many buildings here were damaged ... I saw that the waiting room at the port terminal in Maumere had collapsed,” she said.

Students at St. Peter Major Seminary in Sikka who were attending morning Mass fled in panic when the roof of an assembly hall collapsed, said the Rev. Guidelbertus Tanga, rector of the seminary, which is known locally as Ritapiret Seminary on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.

“Our students and nuns ran out in panic beneath a collapsing roof,” Tanga said. “At least one priest suffered a broken leg after jumping from the second floor of a building during the quake.”

Indonesian authorities initially issued a tsunami warning for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces, and urged residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks. The agency located the shallow undersea quake near Flores island.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

A powerful earthquake caused a tsunami in 1992 that killed about 2,500 people on Flores, part of a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 quake spawned a large localized tsunami that wiped out coastal areas, while liquefaction caused by the shaking turned entire neighborhoods into rivers of sludge in the eastern Indonesian city of Palu, on the Palu-Koro Fault. The disaster killed more than 4,400 people.

In 2010, a 10-foot (three-meter) wave struck the Mentawai Islands, off the western coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, just minutes after a massive offshore earthquake. More than 400 people were killed and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers attempt to clear debris at building damaged by an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers inspect a damaged building following an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

In this photo released by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), rescuers search for victims at a damaged building following an earthquake in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (BASARNAS via AP)

A building is seen damaged following an earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Kurniawan)

A man examines the damage to a building following an earthquake in East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Kurniawan)

HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen to a hurricane before reaching Hawaii's Big Island this weekend, forecasters said Friday, bringing heavy rains that can cause destructive flooding and strong winds that can fuel wildfires.

The National Hurricane Center said Lala should be at hurricane strength by the time it approaches the Big Island early Saturday.

If it makes landfall there, it would be the first to do so since 1871. Back then, according to a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist's research of newspaper accounts, a Category 3 hurricane hit the northeast corner of the island, said Vanessa Almanza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

“First time since satellites,” Almanza said. “The latest forecast has it very close to the southern tip of the Big Island.”

A hurricane warning was issued for the Big Island, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.

Officials and residents braced for Lala regardless of whether Hawaii takes a direct hit. Shelters were scheduled to open, and various events were canceled.

“It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” Almanza said. “A lot of the impacts are felt outside of the hurricane.”

The National Hurricane Center predicted 8 to 12 inches (20.3 to 30.5 centimeters) of rainfall totals across Maui and the Big Island, with maximum totals as high as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) in some spots on the Big Island. Four to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 centimeters) were expected across the island chain.

The center also warned that the storm could cause “life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” along with a dangerous storm surge and ocean swells “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

State Rep. Jeanné Kapela, who represents communities that are in the storm's possible track, traveled to the Big Island from Honolulu on Friday morning and called for people to be on alert.

The southern end of the island is remote and rural but growing in population because of its affordability. Kapela said she was especially worried about people who live off the grid in unpermitted structures. The area's agriculture includes coffee and cattle.

“We're encouraging residents to take this storm seriously, remain vigilant, and get somewhere safe before conditions deteriorate,” she said in a text message to The Associated Press as her flight took off. “We're hopeful the storm moves through quickly, but we're preparing for whatever comes.”

Kapela also noted that many parts of the state are still reeling from devastating flooding in March, saying, “We know how quickly heavy rain and flooding can impact our rural communities.”

Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawaii Farm Bureau, said growers are always concerned when there is a threat of a lot of water in a short amount time. But those still recovering from the spring floods, including on Oahu’s North Shore, were worried about suffering more damage.

Coffee farmer Bruce Corker said it was “sunny and beautiful” Friday in Holualoa, on the west side of the Big Island, and the island's only Costco seemed normal a day earlier. Still, he said, the prospect of “streams overflowing and high winds” was worrisome.

As winds ramped up across the islands, there were no red flag warnings in place but Almanza said the dry and breezy conditions would still elevate fire concerns.

In 2023 the Maui town of Lahaina burned during extreme winds amid a hurricane passing far to the south of Hawaii.

“Since the fire, everybody is way more aware of weather in general and our environment and things that are happening,” said Archie Kalepa of Lahaina, who is well known in the area for his surfing, paddling and other ocean skills and has been watching the storm closely.

As of Friday afternoon, Tropical Storm Lala was located about 275 miles (440 kilometers) east-southeast of South Point, Hawaii, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph) and was moving toward the west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).

The wind speed threshold for a Category 1 hurricane is 74 mph (46 kph).

“I wouldn’t be afraid of what’s to come, just be prepared,” said Steven Businger, the University of Hawaii professor whose research found information about the hurricane that hit the Big Island 155 years ago.

Lala has the potential to make landfall with damaging winds, he said, but its forecast path was trending farther south with every forecast.

“The Big Island is furthest south and furthest east, so it has the greatest probability of having a hurricane hit,” he said. “However, historically Kauai has seen the most landfalls.”

Kauai, which is several islands northwest up the archipelago from the Big Island, saw Hurricane Iniki make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 1992. That, like this year, was an El Nino year. Pacific hurricane activity increases during El Nino, a warming of the Pacific near the equator that affects weather patterns across the globe.

This NOAA satellite image taken at 5:22 p.m. EST on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, shows Tropical Storm Lala as it approaches Hawaii's Big Island. (NOAA via AP)