New tremor rocks Lombok

PANIC AS PEOPLE RUN INTO ROADS AS WALLS COLLAPSE, ROCKS TUMBLE DOWN Thousands have been left homeless and in need of clean water, shelter.

Amagnitude 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 already been weakened collapsed, and people ran out onto roads as rocks tumbled down from hillsides.

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

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

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

The US Geological Survey recorded the latest quake at 5.9, at a depth of 10km.

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 there had been “a big increase”.

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

Authorities made announcements over loudspeakers at evacuation sites after yesterday’s quake, urging people to remain calm and stay inside tents or 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 in a calm voice.

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