AFTERMATH
Indonesian search and rescue personnel work on a collapsed mosque in Pemenang, North Lombok, on Monday, a day after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck the area. See story on
SENGGIGI, Indonesia — Thousands left homeless by a powerful earthquake that hit the Indonesian island of Lombok sheltered Monday night in makeshift tents as authorities said rescuers hadn’t yet reached all devastated areas. They expect the toll of 98 dead to climb.
It was the second quake in a week to hit Lombok, a lessdeveloped island compared with Bali, where the strong tremors damaged buildings.
A July 29 quake killed 16 people and damaged hundreds of houses on Lombok, some of which collapsed in Sunday’s quake, measured at magnitude 7.0 by Indonesian authorities.
Damage was “massive” in northern Lombok, where the quake was centered, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
A large mosque collapsed on worshippers in Lombok’s Lading-Lading village. Rescuers used a backhoe to search for an unknown number of victims.
Some areas hadn’t been reached a day after the quake due to collapsed bridges, blocked roads and the loss of communications.
Mr. Nugroho said all but two of the dead were on Lombok; the others died on Bali.
More than 230 were injured. Thousands of homes and buildings were damaged and the displaced camped where they could.
The quake struck at a depth of 6 miles. Shallow quakes tend to cause more damage than deeper ones.
Videos showed screaming people running from a mall and a neighborhood in Bali where parked vehicles swayed. On Lombok, soldiers and rescuers carried the injured on stretchers and carpets. Many were treated outdoors.
“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,” Mr. Nugroho said.
On Gili Trawangan, a popular vacation island near Lombok, thousands of tourists and residents spent Sunday night on a hill because of tsunami fears, said British visitor Saffron Amis.
“There was a lot of screaming and crying, particularly from the locals,” said Ms. Amis. “We spoke to a lot of them and they were panicking about their family in Lombok. It was just a lot of panic because no one knew what was happening.”
By Monday, thousands were desperate to leave.
Hundreds packed a sliver of white sand beach on the 6square-mile Trawangan island, shouting at rescue personnel trying to ensure an orderly evacuation, according to video from police.
Authorities have deployed ships to evacuate people. About 2,700 have left, but several thousand more tourists and locals are waiting to leave, Mr. Nugroho said.