Earthquake hits Indonesian resort islands of Bali, 82 dead

MATARAM: Killing 82 people, a powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday. A week before another earthquake occured on Lombok which killed more than a dozen people.

Many buildings, a department store, the airport terminal, where ceiling panels were shaken, were damaged due to the earthquake. A video circulated the social media where people were screaming and running from houses in a Bali neighborhood and vehicles rocking. Soldiers came to rescue the injured people in Lombok.

“The toll had risen to 82 with hundreds others injured. Thousands of homes were damaged and most people were killed by collapsing houses,” said spokesperson for National Disaster Mitigation Agency. He added saying, “A total of 65 of the districts 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.”

The magnitude of the quake was recorded as 7.0 by the US Geological Survey. A Lombok woman, Harian, said, “I was watching TV when I felt a big shake. The lamp was shaking and people were shouting ‘Get out’. I ran out into the dark because the power cut off.”

Even a Tsunami warning came into light after the waves hit 15 centimeters high in three villages. A Lombok disaster official, Iwan Asmara, said, “Frightened people poured out of their homes to move to higher ground, particularly in North Lombok and Mataram.”

On July 29, a magnitude of 6.4 earthquake occured on the island which killed at least 16 people. Many earthquakes occur in Indonesia because its located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, which is an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.