Lombok earthquake kills 82 and injured hundreds
An earthquake has struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok killing 82 people (the toll is expected to rise) and wounded hundreds.
The tremor was measured at a magnitude of 6.9, triggering panic among locals and tourists. The quake hit last night (Sunday) and shook up the neighbouring island of Bali.
An initial tsunami warning, which was later cancelled, had residents panicking and scrambling for higher ground.
Reports say that most of the victims died in the higher grounds of northern Lombok near the main town of Mataram. The main tourist spots are in the south and west of the island. The US Geological Survey says the shallow quake hit the northern section of Lombok 10 kilometres underground. The main quake was followed by two secondary tremors and more than 20 aftershocks.
AFP reports that theSingapore Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who was in Lombok for a security conference when the earthquake struck, described on Facebook how his hotel room on the 10th floor shook violently.
“Walls cracked, it was quite impossible to stand up,” he said.
Last night’s earthquake comes a week after a shallow 6.4-magnitude tremor hit the same island, killing 17 people and damaging hundreds of buildings.
SOURCES: AFP, The Nation, Facebook
