Dozens of houses and other buildings were damaged when the 7.7-magnitude quake hit the popular tourist island in Indonesia’s east.
Suharyanto said about 2,000 people had evacuated.
“I have never felt an earthquake this big,” Yulian Juita Ekalia, who lives in Ruteng city more than 100km west of the epicentre, told AFP by telephone.
“It felt like we were on a trampoline; it was really scary,” said the 37-year-old university lecturer, who was jolted awake at around 5.30am.
“As I rushed to get outside, everything in the house fell down: the television, my son’s trophies, the dish racks, suitcases on top of the wardrobes. When I got outside, my son and neighbours were already there, screaming in fear.”