A collapsed building following a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Borong, East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara on August 16, 2026. [AFP]
A paralysed 84-year-old woman has been found alive three days after a strong earthquake flattened her home on an Indonesian island, an official said Wednesday, as the death toll rose to 73.
More than 900 people were injured and nearly 60,000 displaced by the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck off Indonesia's Flores island on Saturday, according to the BNPB disaster mitigation agency.
Paulina Pobi's house on a small island north of Flores was one of hundreds knocked down by the earthquake, with the 84-year-old buried alive under collapsed bamboo walls.
She had remained there until her family, who initially thought she had been rescued and taken to a shelter, returned to look for her on Tuesday.
"Because she was paralysed, she couldn't move or speak, so it wasn't until the fourth day that her family finally found her," local official Rudolfus Riba told AFP.
"She is in good health; there were no injuries at all. She was just a bit weak because she hadn' t eaten or drunk anything for days," Rudolfus said.