Eighty-two dead as Indonesian island hit by second quake
AT LEAST 82 people were killed yesterday when Indonesia’s resort island of Lombok was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.
The powerful quake triggered panic among tourists and residents, and was also felt on the neighbouring holiday island of Bali, one week after another quake on Lombok killed more than a dozen.
On Lombok, thousands fled from their homes to gather for safety in open spaces.
The latest quake, which triggered a brief tsunami warning, damaged buildings as far away as Denpasar on Bali, including a department store and the airport terminal, where ceiling panels were shaken loose, authorities said.
Video showed screaming people running in panic from houses in a Bali neighbourhood and vehicles rocking. On Lombok, soldiers and other rescuers carried injured people on stretchers and carpets to an evacuation centre.
The quake struck early yesterday evening at a depth of 10.5km in the northern part of Lombok.
US model and television presenter Chrissy Teigen was caught up in the earthquake while holidaying with her family in Bali. Teigen, 32, posted a series of brief updates on her Twitter profile.
The Lip Sync Battle host initially wrote: “Oh my god. Bali. Trembling. So long.”, before adding “Phewwwwww”, indicating that the tremors had stopped.
Teigen is with her husband – singer John Legend – and their two young children Luna and Miles.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the quake was felt strongly 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 continued operating last night, according to the director general of civil aviation.
There had been a half-hour evacuation at the Lombok airport following the quake because the electricity went off.
A magnitude 6.4 quake hit Lombok on July 29, killing 16 people.
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.