A strong 7.0 Magnitude earthquake hit Lombok island near Bali of Indonesia on Sunday evening, killed 91 people, 200 others injured, thousands homes destroyed, 20,000 people moved to shelters
Sunday, August 05, 2018
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Patients are evacuated outside to the parking lot of Mataram City General Hospital after a strong earthquake is felt in Mataram in eastern Lombok island, Indonesia, on Sunday. |
VietPress USA (Aug. 5, 2018): Today on Sunday, Aug. 5th, 2018, at at 7:46 p.m. local time, a very strong earthquake of 7.0 Magnitude struck and destroyed everywhere the beautiful Indonesian Tourism Island of Lombok, jolting nearby Bali. Both Lombok and Bali are famous for their picturesque beaches and mountains, buildings in Lombok and Bali height restrictions keep buildings from exceeding the height of coconut trees, the AP reports.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake at magnitude 7.0 that wrecked buildings more than 120 miles away in southern Bali, knocked out electricity in several areas and forced evacuations.
According to Indonesia's disaster response agency, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB), at least 91 people are dead, 200 others were injured and thousands of homes were damaged, many wounded victims were treated outside of health clinics and hospitals due to the condition of damaged buildings. Officials expect the death toll to rise.
Indonesia's disaster response agency, Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) said that a short-lived tsunami warning has ended.
Just one week ago, a 6.4 magnitude quake rocked the region, leaving at least 16 people dead.
Sunday's quake also comes amid an uptick in eruptions at Bali's Mount Agung volcano. Mount Agung lies on the Pacific Ocean "Ring of Fire," a string of volcanoes and fault lines.
The quake, which originated in northern Lombok. BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement that "Most of the victims died from being hit by collapsed buildings." Photos from across the island show dozens being wheeled off in stretchers after the quake.
Freelance reporter Tess Vigeland, speaking to NPR from Bali, describes the moment the tremor hit the island:
"Shopkeepers and tourists fled stores and restaurants en masse. A Balinese dance performance at a famous temple in Ubud ended with the audience jumping from their seats and running to the streets. The latest news from Sutopo of BNPB said the death toll had risen to 91 and more than 200 people were seriously injured. Thousands of homes and buildings were damaged and 20,000 people are in temporary shelters.
A magnitude 5.6 aftershock hit less than an hour later."
Read more information from AP on Yahoo News at:
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Powerful quake rocks Indonesian tourist island, 82 dead
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| A policeman examines debris that fell and crushed parked motorbikes following a strong earthquake on nearby Lombok island, at a shopping center in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia August 5, 2018. REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo |
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| Debris on top of a motorcycles after an earthquake in Bali, Indonesia, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. A strong earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday, killing at least three people and shaking neighboring Bali, one week after another quake on Lombok killed more than a dozen. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) |
The latest quake damaged buildings as far away as Denpasar on Bali, including a department store and the airport terminal, where ceiling panels were shaken loose, authorities said.
Video showed screaming people running in panic from houses in a Bali neighborhood and vehicles rocking. On Lombok, soldiers and other rescuers carried injured people on stretchers and carpets to an evacuation center.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the toll had risen to 82 with hundreds others injured. Thousands of homes were damaged and most people were killed by collapsing houses, he said.
A total of 65 of the deaths were in North Lombok district, nine in West Lombok district, four in the provincial capital Mataram and two each in Central Lombok and East Lombok districts, Nugroho said.
The quake, recorded at magnitude 7.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey, struck early Sunday evening at a depth of 10.5 kilometers (6 miles) in the northern part of Lombok.
"I was watching TV when I felt a big shake," said Harian, a Lombok woman who gave one name. "The lamp was shaking, and people were shouting 'Get out.' I ran out into the dark because the power cut off."
A tsunami warning was lifted after waves just 15 centimeters (6 inches) high were recorded in three villages, said Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
Frightened people poured out of their homes to move to higher ground, particularly in North Lombok and Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province, said Iwan Asmara, a Lombok disaster official.
The Bali and Lombok airports continued operating Sunday night, according to the director general of civil aviation. There had been a half-hour evacuation at the Lombok airport following the quake because the electricity went off. TV showed crying women consoling each other outside Lombok's airport.
The island was already recovering from a magnitude 6.4 quake on July 29, which killed 16 people.
Like Bali, Lombok is known for pristine beaches and mountains. Hotels and other buildings in both locations are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
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Kotarumalos reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press writer Stephen Wright in Jakarta contributed to this report.
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