Indonesian quake survivors recall trauma of all-day intense aftershocks, self-rescue

Carolus Winfridus was asleep when an earthquake struck off Indonesia’s island of Flores, as he was awoken by intense rumbling and saw his wardrobe doors flying open.

He and his family quickly scrambled for a way out of their house in the town of Maumere, Sikka Regency, one of nine regencies hit by Saturday’s devastating 7.7-magnitude quake that killed almost 80 people and displaced nearly 100,000.

Survivors and officials describe how blocked roads, power cuts and relentless aftershocks have complicated relief efforts in remote parts of Flores in one of Indonesia’s most earthquake-prone regions.

Winfridus, who works for a local non-governmental organisation, described his panic when the quake struck at 6.45am local time.

“I felt a massive jolt and my clothes went everywhere,” said Winfridus. “Because it was still early in the morning, the front door of my house was still locked. In the melee, no one could find the key, which had been on a table and knocked to the floor by the rattling.”

Terrified of a collapse, Winfridus and his family escaped by jumping through an open window and gathered in front of the house as the shaking abated, which he said seemed to last much longer than previous quakes that he had experienced.