Quake causes ‘massive’ damage in north Lombok
Tourists evacuated by ship from three islands near the tremor’s centre
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency says the death toll from the earthquake on Lombok has risen to 98 and could rise further as rescuers still haven’t reached some of the worst affected areas in the north of the island.
Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there is “massive” damage in north Lombok from the quake that struck yesterday. The ruins of a mosque that collapsed in Lading-Lading village while people prayed inside was being pulled apart by a backhoe in search of victims.
He said thousands of houses and other buildings have been damaged and most of the deaths counted so far were caused by collapsing houses. Nugroho said the death toll had risen to 98 last night, after warning earlier that it would “definitely increase”. More than 230 people were seriously injured and 20,000 people were in temporary shelters.
Foreign and Indonesian tourists are being evacuated from popular holiday islands off the northwest of Lombok.
Sutopo said there were no fatalities among tourists on the three islands: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. He said three ships had evacuated at least 1000 tourists. Four agencies including the military and the national search and rescue agency were involved in the evacuation.
The quake struck Lombok and shook neighbouring Bali.
It was the second deadly quake in a week to hit Lombok. A July 29 quake killed 16 people and damaged hundreds of houses, some of which collapsed in the magnitude 7.0 temblor, killing those inside.
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.
“People panicked and scattered on the streets and buildings and houses that had been damaged by the previous earthquake had become more damaged and collapsed,” Sutopo said.
Many victims were treated outdoors because hospitals were damaged in the quake while the night-time search and rescue effort had been hampered by electricity and communications blackouts.
The quake, measured at 7.0 magnitude by Indonesian authorities and a still-powerful 6.9 by the US Geological Survey, struck at a depth of 10.5km in the northern part of Lombok and triggered a tsunami warning.
Frightened people fled their homes to move to higher ground, particularly in North Lombok and Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province.
The tsunami warning was lifted after waves just 15cm high were recorded in three villages, said Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
“I was watching TV when I felt a big shake,” said Harian. “The lamp was shaking, and people were shouting ‘Get out.’ I ran out into the dark because the power cut off.”
The Bali and Lombok airports continued operating. There had been a halfhour evacuation at the Lombok airport following the quake because the electricity went off.
On Gili Trawangan, thousands of tourists and local residents spent the night on a hill fearing a tsunami, said British visitor Saffron Amis. “There was a lot of screaming and crying, particularly from the locals,” said Amis, from Brighton.
“We spoke to a lot of them and they were panicking about their family in Lombok.”