Jakarta, Aug. 17 -- Indonesia stepped up disaster response to Saturday's magnitude 7.7 earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara that had killed at least 54 people, as the country marked its 81st Independence Day on Monday.

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno assured residents of maximum emergency measures during an Independence Day ceremony in Manggarai district, East Nusa Tenggara.

He said senior officials had traveled to the province immediately after the quake to help affected communities across Flores Island.

"We have been in East Nusa Tenggara since day one to assess the situation and discuss speeding up recovery efforts," Pratikno said.

Authorities have established teams to oversee relief distribution to are...