Humanitarian crisis looms in Lombok after quake

A MAGNITUDE 6.2 aftershock rocked Indonesia’s Lombok yesterday, sparking fresh panic on the tropical tourist island after a series of tremors that have killed more than 150 people in the past two weeks.

Witnesses reporting on the aftermath of last Sunday’s quake in the north of the island said buildings and walls that had been weakened collapsed, and people ran out onto roads as rocks tumbled down from hillsides.

“Evacuees and people ran out of houses when they felt the strong shake of the quake,” said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB).

“People are still traumatised. Some buildings were damaged further because of this.”

Officials said the epicentre of the aftershock was on land, so there was no risk of a tsunami.

BNPB’s official death toll from Sunday’s 6.9 magnitude quake stood at 131, although some officials put the number at 347.

Sutopo did not give an updated toll, saying only that there had been “a big increase”.

A humanitarian crisis is also looming in Lombok, where thousands of people have been left homeless and in desperate need of clean water, food, medicine and shelter.

Authorities made announcements at evacuation sites after yesterday’s quake, urging people to remain calm and stay inside tents or to find open space if they were inside or near buildings.

“Please stay calm, this is just an aftershock and it will be over soon, there’s no need to be scared,” one official announced.

Officials said about three- quarters of Lombok’s rural north had been without electricity since Sunday, although power had since been restored in most areas.

Aid workers have found some hamlets hard to reach because bridges and roads were torn up by the disaster.

Ruslan, a 29-year-old resident of Pemenang on the north-western shoulder of Lombok, said he had been anxious about aftershocks before the latest jolt.

“My heart jumps if even the door slams hard. It’s difficult to get used to,” he said.

Thousands of tourists have left Lombok since Sunday, fearing further earthquakes, some on extra flights provided by airlines and others on ferries to the neighbouring island of Bali.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes.