Indonesia is hit by 'massive' 7.7 magnitude earthquake: At least 38 killed as buildings collapse on people while they sleep and patients flee their hospital beds
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A powerful earthquake hit Indonesia as authorities told residents to stay away from beaches in case of tsunamis and hundreds were forced to evacuate.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the Indonesian coast around 5.58am local time, around midnight in the UK.
Indonesia's Flores Island was hit by the quake with a depth of 10km, with the epicentre 68km (42 miles) from Ende, on the southern coast of the island, in East Nusa Tenggara province.
No deaths or injuries were reported immediately after the quake, which was followed by two aftershocks, one with a magnitude of 6.1.
Authorities warned of tsunamis and told residents to stay away from beaches and riverbanks as the shallow quake threatened Indonesian coastlines.
Video appearing to be of the Port of Maumere on Flores captured crumbling buildings and shattered windows as the earthquake took its toll.
Comprising 17,000 islands, Indonesia is vulnerable to earthquakes because of its position on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', a series of volcanoes and fault lines around the ocean.
Lukas Lotar, a hospital porter, said: 'Suddenly it started to shake and I panicked.
Video posted on social media showed buildings crumbling after the earthquake hit Indonesia
Windows shattered and plasterwork fell from walls as the 7.7 magnitude earthquake was followed by two aftershocks
A small fishing village on the coastline of Flores, the Indonesian island near to where a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit overnight (file pic)
'Patients also fled the hospital, the jolt was big. I saw some walls were cracked.'
Indonesia's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BKMG) said it was possible a tsunami could follow the quake.
'Tsunami modelling results indicate that this earthquake has the potential to generate a tsunami in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi, and West Nusa Tenggara,' the agency said.
It warned residents of waves from 0.5m to 3m high as residents in Maumere evacuated to higher ground.
According to witnesses the sea around the island has washed out, a common sign of a coming tsunami.
The Indonesian quake was of a higher magnitude than that which hit Colombia earlier this week.
That earthquake was a magnitude 7.4 and buried people across the country as buildings collapsed.
A pink sand beach on Flores, which lies in the country's east (file pic)
The island is on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', named for its volcanoes and fault lines, including the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano which erupted in June last year
At least 111 were killed in Colombia and 87 were injured as the country declared a state of emergency and a race to find survivors began.
Also on the so-called Ring of Fire, the Colombian quake was felt as far away as Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
Last year the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano on Flores erupted and spewed ash high into the air as Indonesian authorities raised the volcanic threat rating to its highest level.
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