Magnitude 7 earthquake rocks country’s Lombok island, 19 killed

◗ National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt strongly across Lombok and Bali islands ◗ Latest quake had a magnitude of seven and struck just 10 km underground according to US Geological Survey

Jakarta, Aug. 5: A major earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok on Sunday killed at least 19 people, injured dozens and damaged buildings, officials said.

"The latest data we have is that 19 people are dead at Tanjung Hospital ( North Lombok)," Agus Hendra Sanjaya, Mataram search and rescue spokesman, told AFP.

Among the dead were a one- year- old and a 72year- old, he added.

The earthquake also sent people running from their homes and triggering a tsunami alert.

The latest quake had a magnitude of seven and struck just 10 km underground according to the US Geological Survey.

Officials issued a tsunami warning and urged people to move away from the ocean. “Please go to a place with higher ground, while remaining calm and not panicking,” Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the agency for

meteorology, climatology and geophysics, told local TV.

Residents in Lombok’s main city Mataram described a strong jolt that sent people scrambling out of buildings. “Everyone immediately ran out of their homes, everyone is panicking,” Iman, a local resident in Mataram, said.

The tremor came a week after a shallow 6.4- magnitude quake hit the island, killing 17 people and damaging hundreds of buildings. It triggered landslides that briefly trapped trekkers on popular mountain hiking routes.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt strongly across Lombok and Bali and had damaged houses on both islands.

Iwan Asmara, a Lombok disaster official, said people poured out of their homes in panic to move to higher ground, particularly in North Lombok and Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province, which includes Lombok.

The Bali and Lombok airports were operating normally tonight, according to the director general of civil aviation. There had been a half hour evacuation at the Lombok airport earlier in the evening following the quake.