Jakarta: At least 91 people were killed and over 200 others injured as a powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked Indonesian island of Lombok, a government official said today.
Most of the victims were on the northern side of Lombok, near the epicenter of the 6.9 magnitude quake that hit early Sunday evening. Two people died on the neighbouring island of Bali, agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. “Most of the victims were hit by debris and falling blocks of concrete,” he said.
The quake triggered panic in the island and nearby Bali Island as well as East Java province and people rushed out of homes and buildings, said Purwo.
Purwo said the death toll was expected to rise further as more data became available.
A week ago, on July 29, Lombok Island was struck by a 6.4 magnitude quake, leaving 17 people dead, 365 of others injured and 8,871 people displaced as the jolts destroyed 14,940 houses, the disaster agency said in a statement. The quake also cut off escape routes in a mountain, a favourite tourist destination, trapping over 1,000 foreign and domestic tourists, fortunately all of them were rescued.
This post was published on August 6, 2018 6:30 pm