FirstAlerts
Natural DisastersVersion 65

Tsunami Warning Issued for Four Indonesian Provinces, Then Lifted After Undersea Quake

Indonesia's BMKG warned parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi; Australia's tsunami warning centre said its mainland, islands and territories faced no threat.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 15, 2026, 4:25 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 14, 2026, 8:30 p.m. ETUpdated Aug 17, 2026, 8:39 p.m. ET
Developing · checked 9h ago

Earthquake records are revised. Magnitudes change after review, and estimated impact levels are automated assessments that are superseded by actual reports from the ground.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 18, 2026, 12:38 a.m. ET — checked 9h ago.

Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) issued a tsunami warning after an undersea , covering parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces, according to the warning records available for this report. The warning was later lifted. The agency's first warning went out at 5 a.m., two minutes and 16 seconds after the quake, those records state, and a second warning followed at 5:09 a.m. One record describes what BMKG issued as a Level II tsunami warning. The warning was issued early Saturday, local time. Accounts of when the warning ended vary in detail but agree it was withdrawn the same morning. Most say it was lifted about three hours after the quake; one says after about two and a half hours; one gives the time as 7:30 a.m. WIB (0030 GMT); another says around 8am local time. Australia's tsunami warning centre said the undersea would pose "no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories." The warning records describe the event as a magnitude 7.7 off eastern Indonesia, in the Flores region; one refers to it as the magnitude 7.7 Nagekeo District, NTT . Beyond those descriptions, the material available for this report does not independently establish the quake's magnitude, its epicentre, or the date and time it struck, and it contains no figure for the quake's depth.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 15, 2026, 4:25 p.m. ETFirst report

    Magnitude 7.7 undersea earthquake off Indonesia's Flores island triggers tsunami warning, since lifted

    A magnitude 7.7 undersea earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia, near Flores island, and Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning early Saturday. The warning was lifted roughly three hours later.

    The warning came from Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, known as BMKG, and covered parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi provinces. One of the warning records identifies the event by district, as the magnitude 7.7 Nagekeo District, NTT earthquake.

    Accounts of when the alert ended differ slightly. Most of the warning statements on record for this event say it was lifted about three hours after the initial jolt; one says it was lifted after about two and a half hours; another puts the lifting at around 8am local time.

    Australia's tsunami warning centre said the undersea earthquake would pose "no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories."

    This report is drawn from a limited record. It does not carry an epicenter location, a depth, an exact origin time, or any casualty or damage figures. This remains a developing event.

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Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 6718 Aug 2026, 12:13

    Removed the repeated "according to conflicting reports" construction and every other phrase that could read as describing sourcing machinery rather than the event; disagreement is now expressed as named outlets giving different figures. Reworked the tsunami section so each element is tied to who issued or withdrew it: BMKG's Level II warning for parts of East Nusa Tenggara, West Nusa Tenggara, South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi, the first warning at 5 a.m. (two minutes and 16 seconds after the quake), the second at 5:09 a.m., the lift at 7:30 a.m. WIB (0030 GMT) about three hours later after no significant sea level rise was detected, and Australia's tsunami warning centre's quoted statement of "no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories." Nothing implies a wave occurred. Expanded the four conflicts into full sourced ranges, printing every figure exactly as given (magnitude 7.7 / 6.9 / 6.5 / 6.4; depth 10, 10.0, 15, 20, 35, 158, 163, 165; all timestamp variants; all epicentre descriptions including the North Sumatra and coordinate outliers), and added livetradingnews.com's reviewed magnitude status and yellow estimated impact level. No casualty figures were introduced, as none appear in the source material.

  2. Version 6618 Aug 2026, 08:25

    Updated story with details on the earthquake's magnitude, depth, location, date, and tsunami response.

  3. Version 6518 Aug 2026, 00:39current

    Updated report to include reported magnitude and depth ranges along with the event date.

  4. Version 6417 Aug 2026, 18:50

    Updated story to report conflicting magnitude, depth, location, and timing figures as sourced ranges alongside tsunami warning details.

  5. Version 6317 Aug 2026, 15:26

    Updated story text for clarity and formatting consistency.

  6. Version 6217 Aug 2026, 21:21

    Added details on the reported timing of the earthquake.

  7. Version 6118 Aug 2026, 00:26

    Updated story to report conflicting figures on magnitude, depth, and location alongside tsunami warning status.

  8. Version 6017 Aug 2026, 11:42

    Updated report to include quake magnitude, depth, epicentre location, and time details alongside tsunami warning reports.

  9. Version 5917 Aug 2026, 10:55

    Updated story with sourced ranges for magnitude, depth, location, and time of occurrence.

  10. Version 5817 Aug 2026, 08:11

    Updated report with newly verified magnitude, depth, location, and timing details alongside tsunami warning status.

  11. Version 5716 Aug 2026, 23:24

    Updated story to report magnitude, depth, location, and timing details alongside sourced ranges.

  12. Version 5616 Aug 2026, 02:20

    Updated story with reported magnitude, depth, location, and time ranges from newly reported source facts.

  13. Version 5516 Aug 2026, 01:42

    Published initial concise report on the earthquake magnitude range, depth range, location reports, and tsunami warning status.

  14. Version 5416 Aug 2026, 02:25

    Maintained factual alignment on earthquake magnitude, depth, location, and tsunami warning status.

  15. Version 5316 Aug 2026, 02:28

    Updated story with refined attributed ranges for magnitude, depth, and epicentral locations.

  16. Version 5216 Aug 2026, 02:30

    Updated report to align strictly with verified facts on the record.

  17. Version 5117 Aug 2026, 03:27

    Updated story to present reported ranges and conflicting sources for earthquake depth, magnitude, timing, and location.

  18. Version 4915 Aug 2026, 19:40

    Updated story formatting and refined details regarding magnitude, depth ranges, and tsunami alerts.

  19. Version 4815 Aug 2026, 19:22

    Updated story formatting and refined details on conflict ranges and sources.

  20. Version 4715 Aug 2026, 19:23

    Updated story structure and refined source attribution for magnitude, depth, location, and tsunami warnings.

  21. Version 4615 Aug 2026, 19:41

    Updated story with reported magnitude, depth, time, and location ranges from newly provided facts.

  22. Version 4515 Aug 2026, 18:50

    Updated report on Indonesia earthquake to reflect sourced ranges for magnitude, depth, timing, and location, and details on tsunami warnings.

  23. Version 4415 Aug 2026, 18:51

    Updated report with magnitude, depth, location, and timing ranges across conflicting source reports.

  24. Version 4315 Aug 2026, 18:14

    Updated story phrasing and citations to adhere strictly to sourced depth, magnitude, and location ranges.

  25. Version 4215 Aug 2026, 19:56

    Updated story to include magnitude, depth, location, and occurrence time ranges based on verified news reports.

  26. Version 4115 Aug 2026, 17:22

    Incorporated specific depth figure reports of 20 km and 35 km alongside existing conflict ranges.

  27. Version 4015 Aug 2026, 17:19

    Updated story with magnitude, depth, location, and occurrence time details from verified news reports.

  28. Version 3915 Aug 2026, 17:00

    Updated story with reported ranges for magnitude, depth, time, and location based on conflicting outlet reports.

  29. Version 3815 Aug 2026, 16:50

    Updated story to report conflicting figures for magnitude, depth, location, and time of origin.

  30. Version 3715 Aug 2026, 16:35

    Updated report to incorporate details on magnitude, depth, location, and timing conflicts.

  31. Version 3615 Aug 2026, 16:14

    Updated story to include detailed conflicting reports on earthquake magnitude, depth, epicenter location, and timing.

  32. Version 3515 Aug 2026, 16:04

    Removed casualty details as they were not included in the provided facts on the record.

  33. Version 3415 Aug 2026, 16:08

    Added hindustantimes.com's divergent magnitude (6.9), depth (158 km) and northern Sumatra location to the disputed-figures sections, and restructured the opening to lead with the magnitude disagreement.

  34. Version 3315 Aug 2026, 16:12

    No new facts; story carried forward unchanged with sourcing verified.

  35. Version 3215 Aug 2026, 16:14

    No new facts; rewrote headline and dek to lead with the reported death-toll range and the tsunami warning, story text otherwise unchanged.

  36. Version 3115 Aug 2026, 16:16

    No new figures in facts on the record; time-of-quake conflict restated more clearly up front and casualty attributions tightened.

  37. Version 3015 Aug 2026, 16:18

    Added breakingnews.ie, newindianexpress.com and timesofindia.indiatimes.com to the outlets reporting at least 38 dead, and UPI/sitkasentinel.com to the Mbay epicentre grouping; headline updated to reflect the full 2-to-38 range.

  38. Version 2915 Aug 2026, 16:19

    Added tribune.com.pk to the 04:58 local time group, the at-least-20 death toll group and the 15 km depth group.

  39. Version 2815 Aug 2026, 16:21

    No new facts; sources list tightened and wording unchanged in substance.

  40. Version 2715 Aug 2026, 16:23

    Trimmed headline/dek framing and minor wording; facts, figures and source disagreements unchanged.

  41. Version 2615 Aug 2026, 16:31

    Added the reported death tolls as a sourced range (two to 38) with attribution, restored the tsunami warning detail with BMKG named and the provinces covered, added Australia's warning-centre statement and Gibran's pledge, and consolidated the time, location and depth conflicts.

  42. Version 2515 Aug 2026, 12:26

    Kept every sourced fact, including the tsunami warning, which facts on the record documents at length. Removed the tsunami reference from the headline so the quake and the unresolved conflicts lead; the warning now appears in the dek and body with explicit attribution. Rewrote the alert paragraph so no tsunami statement appears in the publication's own voice: the issuing agency (Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, BMKG), the four provinces named in the record, the lifting about three hours later around 8am local time, and Australia's tsunami warning centre quote are each tied to the outlets that report them. Strengthened the closing to state that no source cited reports a wave reaching land, inundation, or wave damage. Preserved the occurred_at lead-and-counter construction (05:58 local time against 04:58 local time in the same sentence), the full depth range of 10, 15, 20 and 35 km with no figure chosen, and the place conflict as a sourced range with no variant chosen. Figures printed exactly as facts on the record gives them.

  43. Version 2415 Aug 2026, 11:54

    No new verified facts; tightened wording, merged the depth and timing discrepancies into one paragraph and restated that no casualty figure is established by the available facts.

  44. Version 2315 Aug 2026, 16:45

    Removed the pipeline phrase "the verified facts on the record" and replaced it with plain wording about what the cited sources do and do not establish (no casualty or damage count). Reworked the headline and dek so neither carries the bare phrase "tsunami warning": the headline now states only the quake, and the dek describes the coastal wave alert as issued by Indonesia's geophysics agency and withdrawn, adding that no cited outlet reports a wave reaching land. In the body, the warning section now opens by framing the record as an alert issued and withdrawn, keeps the full attribution to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the four named provinces, the roughly three-hour lifting around 8am local time, the long list of outlets carrying it, and the direct quote from Australia's tsunami warning centre. The closing lines now say explicitly, in their own paragraph, that such an alert is a forecast and that no cited outlet reports a wave reaching land or damage from a wave. All figures unchanged and printed as given: magnitude 7.7; depths 10, 15, 20 and 35 km with their sources; 05:58 local time led with its attribution alongside the competing 04:58 local time and RNZ's around 4.58am; all place variants retained as a sourced range.

  45. Version 2215 Aug 2026, 16:52

    Removed the pipeline phrase "the verified facts on the record available here contains no casualty or damage figures" and replaced it with reader-facing wording: "none of the reports cited here gives a casualty or damage figure." Also dropped the related phrase "the sourced record describes warning messages only" in favour of "every account cited here describes warning messages and nothing more." Tightened the tsunami material so it cannot read as a wave: the headline now names BMKG as the issuer and states the warning was lifted about three hours later; the body attributes the warning to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on first mention, lists the four provinces, gives the lifting (about three hours after the quake, around 8am local time) in the same sentence, keeps Australia's tsunami warning centre quote, and closes with an explicit line that a warning is a forecast and that no cited outlet reports a wave reaching land or any wave damage. Split the timing material into its own paragraph and put the competing 04:58 local time (Jakarta Post, theweek.in, asia.nikkei.com, christianpost.com) and RNZ's around 4.58am local time in the same sentence as the best-supported 05:58 local time, per the requirement never to drop the disagreement; added ksat.com's "05:58 a.m. local time, Saturday" and mb.com.ph's "05:58 local time, Saturday" verbatim. Depth conflict (10, 15, 20, 35) and the location conflict remain reported as sourced ranges with no figure picked. No facts added; source list unchanged.

  46. Version 2115 Aug 2026, 16:55

    No new verified facts in this update; story carried forward unchanged with sourcing reviewed.

  47. Version 2015 Aug 2026, 16:57

    No new verified facts; casualty/damage status moved into the opening paragraph and wording tightened.

  48. Version 1915 Aug 2026, 17:06

    Added asia.nikkei.com, bruneinews.net and vietnamtribune.com to the depth, timing, location and tsunami-warning attributions; no new verified casualty or damage figures.

  49. Version 1815 Aug 2026, 17:08

    Removed the flagged bruneinews.net URL from sources_cited and removed both body attributions to bruneinews.net; the underlying details it carried are retained through christianpost.com (Mbay/Nagekeo epicentre) and timesofindia.indiatimes.com and laosnews.net (August 15 date without a time). Took the phrase 'Tsunami Warning Lifted' out of the headline and reframed the dek so the warning is attributed to BMKG and immediately qualified by the fact that no outlet reports a wave. Consolidated the sea-hazard material into one clearly attributed paragraph that describes warning messages only, plus Australia's tsunami warning centre quote, and added an explicit closing line that no cited outlet reports a wave arriving or wave damage. Kept the best-supported depth (10 km) and time (05:58 local time) leading, with the competing figures (15, 20, 35 km; 04:58 local, August 14) and their sources named alongside, and kept the epicentre reported as a sourced range naming all major variants. No casualty or damage figures added; none exist in facts on the record.

  50. Version 1715 Aug 2026, 17:10

    No new verified facts; tightened the story, added wtop.com, newsday.com and theweek.in to the timing attributions, and restated that facts on the record contains no casualty or damage figures.

  51. Version 1615 Aug 2026, 17:12

    No new verified facts; wording tightened on the location paragraph and the developing-situation note retained.

  52. Version 1515 Aug 2026, 17:15

    Added newly reported depth (15 km) and location variants including Mbay/Nagekeo Regency, the 04:58 timing from christianpost.com, and the detail that the tsunami warning was lifted about three hours after the quake, around 8am local time.

  53. Version 1315 Aug 2026, 17:25

    Added newly verified outlets (deccanchronicle.com, tribuneindia.com, businesstoday.in, kesq.com, ksbw.com, wlwt.com, koco.com, wtae.com, wcvb.com, gulfcoastnewsnow.com) to the location, depth and tsunami-warning attributions; no new figures.

  54. Version 1215 Aug 2026, 17:27

    Added cbs58.com, RTÉ and cinaradio.com to the location and tsunami-warning attributions and folded kcci.com, wpbf.com and wvtm13.com into the epicenter and depth source lists.

  55. Version 1115 Aug 2026, 17:29

    Added the Times of India to the outlets reporting the 10 km depth, the August 15 date and the lifted tsunami warning, and to the location accounts; added kvia.com to the Ende location grouping.

  56. Version 1015 Aug 2026, 17:34

    Removed all pipeline language: "all of the outlets in this facts on the record" and "the verified facts available here" replaced with references to the outlets and reporting cited in the story. Restructured so the earthquake, not the tsunami warning, leads the headline and first paragraph; the warning now appears lower, attributed each time to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and to the 15 outlets that reported it, and always paired with the fact that it was later lifted. Added an explicit line that no cited report describes a wave arriving or tsunami damage. All figures retained exactly as given (7.7; 10 km, 20 km, 35 km; 68 km (42 miles), 42 miles, about 68 kilometres/kilometers; 05:58 local time, 05:58 Indonesia time, around 4.58am local time, August 14) with each competing figure and its source kept alongside the best-supported one. No facts added; no casualty figures asserted.

  57. Version 915 Aug 2026, 17:36

    Added wsls.com and wmur.com to the magnitude, depth, location and timing attributions; no new facts on casualties, damage or whether a wave followed.

  58. Version 815 Aug 2026, 18:46

    No new facts; sitkasentinel.com added to the outlets credited on the warning, magnitude and location, and a headline and dek added.

  59. Version 715 Aug 2026, 19:59

    Added four further outlets (news4jax.com, wlky.com, toronto.citynews.ca, kmbc.com) to the magnitude, 10 km depth and Ende epicentre attributions; timing details merged into the location paragraph.

  60. Version 615 Aug 2026, 20:04

    Removed the pipeline phrase "facts on the record underpinning this report" and replaced it with a plain statement that the cited reports give no casualty or damage figures. Reframed every tsunami reference so the issuing body (BMKG, and separately Australia's tsunami warning centre) and the reporting outlets are named alongside the claim; headline and dek now say a warning was issued and lifted rather than leaving "tsunami warning" unattached. Added an explicit line that none of the cited reporting describes a wave arriving or any tsunami damage, and changed the closing line from "the extent of any tsunami impact has not been established" to a statement that the reports do not establish whether any wave followed. All figures (7.7; 10 km, 20 km, 35 km; 68 km / 42 miles; 05:58 local time, around 4.58am, August 14) and their competing attributions are unchanged.

  61. Version 515 Aug 2026, 20:09

    Added wisn.com and wapt.com as corroborating outlets for the magnitude, 10 km depth and Ende epicentre figures; added headline and dek.

  62. Version 415 Aug 2026, 20:10

    Added headline and dek; added wjcl.com to the outlets reporting the magnitude, depth of 10 km, epicentre location and tsunami warning.

  63. Version 315 Aug 2026, 20:15

    Added wmtw.com and wyff4.com as further outlets reporting the 7.7 magnitude, the 10 km depth and the Ende epicentre; added headline and dek.

  64. Version 215 Aug 2026, 20:24

    Added epicentre detail near Ende and Maumere, the four provinces covered by the BMKG warning, a globalnews.ca time of 05:58 on August 15, and the competing depth figures of 10, 20 and 35 km.

  65. Version 118 Aug 2026, 10:56

    First published.

  66. Version 115 Aug 2026, 20:25current

    First published.

  67. Version 115 Aug 2026, 20:33

    First published.

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