Quakes trigger landslides, blackouts in Indonesia

SEMBALUN, Indonesia — Strong earthquakes jolted the Indonesian island of Lombok on Sunday, causing power blackouts, landslides and damage to buildings, as the tourist hotspot was trying to recover from a temblor earlier this month that killed hundreds of people.

A shallow quake Sunday evening was measured at magnitude 6.9 by the U.S. Geological Survey and followed quakes during the day recorded at magnitudes 6.3 and 5.4. All were centered in the northeast of the island. The evening quake was followed by strong aftershocks.

A reporter for The Associated Press in Sembalun subdistrict, on the island’s northeast in the shadow of Mount Rinjani, said the latest in the flurry of quakes caused panic and power blackouts. Many people already were staying in tents following the deadly quake in early August and its hundreds of aftershocks.

There was no immediate official information about damage or casualties. Kompas TV said there were power blackouts in the north, center and west of the island. Hotel guests in the Senggigi resort town on the west of the island were evacuated to parking lots, it said.

Dwikorita Karnawatim, who heads Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, said buildings that haven’t collapsed so far have suffered repeated stress, and authorities have urged people to avoid both the mountain’s slopes and weakened buildings.

The quake also was felt in the neighboring islands of Bali and Sumbawa. An AP reporter said tourists and villagers in Bali ran out of buildings in panic.

The daytime quakes caused landslides on the slopes of Rinjani, an active volcano and panic in villages. Video shot by the Indonesian Red Cross showed huge clouds of dust billowing from the mountain’s slopes.