A strong and shallow earthquake early yesterday killed at least 14 people, including five children, and injured more than 160 on the Indonesian island of Lombok, near Bali, officials said.
The magnitute 6.4 quake damaged more than 1,000 houses and was felt in a wider area, including on Bali, where no damage or casualties were reported.
The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of only 7km. Shallow earthquakes tend to do more damage than deeper ones.
Photo: AFP
East Lombok district was the hardest hit with 10 deaths, including a Malaysian tourist, Indonesian Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
The number of casualties could increase as data were still being collected from other locations on the island, he said.
At least 162 people were injured, including 67 hospitalized with serious injuries, Nugroho said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The quake caused blackouts in East Lombok and North Lombok districts and triggered a large landslide from Mount Rinjani.
Rescuers were evacuating more than 800 tourists from the mountain.
In East Lombok and the provincial capital of Mataram, the quake lasted about 10 seconds, causing residents to flee their homes onto streets and fields, Nugroho said.
He said most of the fatalities and injuries were caused by falling slabs of concrete.
Photographs released by the disaster agency showed damaged houses and the entrance to the popular Mount Rinjani National Park, which was immediately closed for fear of landslides.
Television footage showed residents remaining outside, fearing aftershocks, as the injured were being treated on mattresses taken out of their houses and patients were wheeled out of a hospital.
East Lombok police chief Eka Fathurrahman said the Malaysian victim was a woman from a group of 18 Malaysian tourists who had just visited Mount Rinjani when the quake jolted their guesthouse and toppled a concrete wall.
Six others at the guesthouse were injured.
Fathurrahman said many injured people who were treated outside a damaged clinic were evacuated to the main hospital farther away after more ambulances reached the devastated location in East Lombok’s Sembalun village.
“Residents refused to enter their houses as prolonged aftershocks are still being felt,” he said.
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics recorded more than 130 aftershocks.
Lombok is known for pristine beaches and mountains. Hotels and other buildings are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.
Officials in Lombok have declared a three-day state of emergency. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is due to visit the island this morning, his spokesman said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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