Death toll rises to 10 after earthquake strikes Indonesia holiday island
A powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake has struck the popular tourist destination of Lombok in Indonesia, killing more than 10 people, injuring dozens more, and damaging many buildings, the country’s disaster mitigation agency says.
The quake hit the northern part of Lombok, the next island east of Bali, early on Sunday morning, when many people were still sleeping but didn’t trigger any waves or tsunami.
Indonesia’s disaster spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said more than 10 people had been killed.
“Some 40 people are injured and dozens of houses were damaged,” he added.
Mr Nugroho expects the number of dead and injured people to rise once the agency finishes collecting data.
Jean-Paul Volckeart, who was woken by the quake while sleeping in the Puncak Hotel near Senggigi on Lombok, said people jumped out of their beds to avoid anything falling on their heads.
“I’ve been walking around but so far there is no damage. We were very surprised as the water in the pools was swaying like a wild sea. There were waves in the pools but only for 20-to-30 seconds,” he told Reuters via telephone.
“The people in the villages may have damages. It’s still early morning here.”
The quake, which was quickly followed by an aftershock of magnitude 5.4 in the same area, was centred 50km northeast of the city of Mataram, the US Geological Survey said.
Mr Nugroho posted on Twitter pictures of houses with collapsed roofs and walls.
The quake may have also impacted Mount Rinjani national park, a popular trekking destination.
“Rinjani mountain climbing is closed temporarily because there are indication of landslide around the mountain,” Mr Nugroho, said in a statement earlier.
Local news Metro TV reported that people were still sleeping when the first quake hit and they quickly fled their houses in panic. Most of the people were still waiting outside their houses in fear of aftershocks, Metro TV said.
Zulkifli, a resident of North Lombok, close to the epicentre said everyone in his home ran outside.
“The earthquake was very strong… and everybody in my house panicked,” he said.
“All my neighbours also ran outside and the electricity was suddenly cut off.”
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The earthquake struck at 6.47am (8.47am AEDT) and was only 7km deep, a shallow depth that would have amplified its effect. The second struck less than a hour later.
With AAP and AFP
