Rescuers were searching through collapsed buildings for survivors on Saturday after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Flores Island, killing at least 38 people and injuring 13 others.

Suharyanto, head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said two of the injured were in serious condition and several people remained trapped inside damaged buildings.

“Victims are trapped in several buildings,” Suharyanto told a news conference, adding that rescue teams would prioritise those locations. Two helicopters and an aircraft were also being prepared to support the search and rescue operation.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered assistance through the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation satellite system.

“Europe stands ready to deploy Copernicus, our eyes in the sky, to support search and rescue efforts. Indonesia, we stand with you,” she said in a post on X.

The earthquake damaged dozens of homes and other buildings across the popular tourist island in eastern Indonesia, while around 2,000 people were forced to evacuate.

The epicentre of the shallow quake was located just off Flores’ northern coast, according to US and Indonesian authorities. Rescue operations have been hampered by landslides that have blocked roads and disrupted access to affected areas.

Residents near Nagekeo, close to the epicentre, reported seeing the sea retreat shortly after the earthquake and rushed towards higher ground amid fears of a tsunami. The tsunami warning was later lifted, but authorities urged residents to stay away from damaged buildings because of the risk posed by continuing aftershocks.

Hundreds of people remained outdoors on Saturday as dozens of aftershocks rattled the island, with the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude.

Yulian Juita Ekalia, a university lecturer living in Ruteng, more than 100km west of the epicentre, said the earthquake woke her at around 5.30am local time.

“I have never felt an earthquake this big,” she told AFP by telephone, describing the shaking as being like standing on a trampoline.

She said household items, including a television, dish racks, suitcases and her son’s trophies, fell as she rushed outside.

“I was really scared. When I got outside, my son and neighbours were already there, screaming in fear,” she said.

Yulian said she had moved her stove outside and was cooking there because she feared further tremors. She also saw patients being treated under emergency tents outside a nearby hospital.

Images showing severe damage to her university left her relieved that the earthquake struck on a Saturday morning, when there were no classes.

“I can't imagine what it would have been like if it happened while we were all there,” she said.

Nagekeo resident Yohanes Babo, 56, said he was at a market when the ground began shaking.

“People were panicking, running here and there. We're evacuating for the time being... and trying to get to the hills,” he told AFP.

Indonesia is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes because it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through South-east Asia and across the Pacific.

Flores was hit by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992, which triggered a tsunami and killed around 2,500 people.

In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a devastating tsunami that killed around 220,000 people across the region, including about 170,000 in Indonesia.