Jakarta, Aug. 15 -- At least five people were killed after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit off the coast of Indonesia's Flores Island on Saturday morning.

CNN reported the confirmed death toll, citing updates from Provincial Police Chief Rudi Darmoko to regional media.

The main tremor struck around 6 AM local time roughly 68 kilometres northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province and was followed by a series of aftershocks, CNN reported, citing data from the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS estimated that about 500,000 people were exposed to very strong or severe shaking, which damaged buildings and shocked residents awake, forcing them to flee their homes.

Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, noted ...