One earthquake after another
6.9-magnitude temblor hits Lombok as residents reel from morning jolt
MATARAM ( Indonesia): A strong earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Lombok, two weeks after a quake killed more than 480 people on the island and hours after another strong tremor triggered landslides, damaged buildings and sent people fleeing.
The 6.9 magnitude quake struck yesterday night at a relatively shallow depth of 20km and about 5km south of Belanting town in East Lombok, according to the US Geological Survey.
No tsunami warning has been issued.
It was the fourth major quake in less than a month to rock the island, after deadly tremors on July 29 and Aug 5 and numerous aftershocks.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the quake, which struck in the same district as the 6.3-magnitude tremor yesterday morning.
But a sleeping local resident said the powerful tremor jolted him awake.
“The earthquake was incredibly strong. Everything was shaking,” Agus Salim said.
“We were all sleeping in an evacuation tent. I had just fallen asleep when suddenly it started to shake ... Everyone ran into the street screaming and crying.”
The area was hit by a power blackout, he added.
Earlier in the morning, a 6.3-magnitude quake, centred in East Lombok, struck at a relatively shallow depth of 7km and was felt across the island, officials said.
“The earthquake caused people to panic and flee their houses,” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Metro TV.
“There have been no reports of death or (serious) damage but people are traumatised.”
Landslides were reported in a national park on Mount Rinjani where hundreds of hikers had been briefly trapped after the quake in late July.
The park has been closed since then.
Local disaster mitigation agency spokesman Agung Pramuja said several houses and other structures in the district of Sembalun, on the slopes of Mount Rinjani, collapsed yesterday after being damaged by the previous two quakes.
The structures included checkpoints once used by trekkers climbing the mountain, Pramuja said, adding that the exact number of damaged buildings was still being checked.
The tremor was also felt in the island’s capital Mataram and on the neighbouring resort island of Bali.
“Everybody ran outside their house. They’re all gathering in an open field, still terrified,” said Endri Susanto, a children rights activist in Mataram.
“People are traumatised by the previous earthquakes and aftershocks never seem to stop.”
The latest tremor comes two weeks after a shallow 6.9-magnitude quake on Aug 5 levelled tens of thousands of homes, mosques and businesses across Lombok and displaced more than 350,000. — AFP