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Lombok Earthquake: At least 91 Dead

Lombok Earthquake: At least 91 Dead
folder_openAsia-Pacific... access_time5 years ago
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Local Editor

At least 91 people have died after a powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, near Bali.

The earthquake, which hit early on Sunday evening, prompted local authorities to issue a tsunami warning although the alert was later lifted.

Authorities said on Monday the death toll could rise further still, and that rescuers still had not reached some hard-hit areas.

It was the second deadly earthquake in a week to hit Lombok. On 29 July 16 people were killed and hundreds of houses damaged, some of which collapsed in Sunday evening’s temblor, killing those inside.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference damage was “massive” in the north of Lombok.

Some areas still had not been reached, with rescuers hampered by collapsed bridges, electricity blackouts and damaged roads blocked with debris.

The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics said the latest 7-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 15km [9.3 miles] on Sunday evening.

Najmul Akhyar, district chief of north Lombok, told MetroTV three people had been killed, although he was unable to assess the whole situation due to an electrical blackout.

Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt strongly across Lombok and Bali and had damaged houses on both islands.

The quake was felt for several seconds in Bali, where people ran out of houses, hotels and restaurants.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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