Tremor triggers Lombok landslide

THIRD QUAKE: MORE THAN 480 DIED A FORTNIGHT AGO

People traumatised but no deaths or injuries reported.

Mataram

Astrong earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Lombok yesterday, causing a landslide, damaging buildings and sending people fleeing just two weeks after more than 480 people died after a tremor.

The 6.3-magnitude quake, centred in East Lombok, struck at a relatively shallow depth of 7km and was felt across the island, officials said.

It was the third major quake in less than a month to rock the island, after deadly tremors on July 29 and August 5 and numerous aftershocks. But this time, there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

“The earthquake caused people to panic and flee their houses,” national disaster agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Metro TV. “There have been no reports of death or [serious] damage but people are traumatised.”

Landslides were reported in a national park on Mount Rinjani where hundreds of hikers had been briefly trapped after the quake in late July. The park has been closed since then.

Local disaster mitigation agency spokesperson Agung Pramuja said several houses and other structures in the district of Sembalun, on the slopes of Mount Rinjani, collapsed yesterday after being damaged by the previous two quakes.

The structures included checkpoints once used by people climbing the mountain, Pramuja said, adding that the exact number of damaged buildings was still being ascertained.

The latest earthquake was felt strongly in East Lombok.

The tremor was also felt in the island’s capital Mataram and on the neighbouring resort island of Bali.

The latest tremor comes two weeks after a shallow 6.9-magnitude quake on August 5 levelled tens of thousands of homes, mosques and businesses across Lombok. More than 480 people died and tens of thousands were injured. –