3 people killed after 7.0-magnitude quake jolts Indonesia's Lombok island

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-06 00:03:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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JAKARTA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and scores of buildings damaged on Lombok and Bali islands after a 7.0-magnitude quake struck Lombok island in central Indonesia on Sunday, officials and volunteers said.

Volunteer Iwan Nirwana told the Metro TV that two adults and a child were found dead after the powerful quake.

Head of disaster agency in West Nusa Tenggara province M. Rum said scores of people sustained injuries, but he still could not give an exact number.

"I got reports that a number of people suffered from injuries," he told the TV.

TV footage also showed panicked people and scores of them suffering from wounds.

"I have got information that houses and buildings were damaged," Agung Pramuja, a senior official at Mataram, provincial capital of West Nusa Tenggara province, told Xinhua over phone from Lombok island.

On the nearby resort island of Bali, the quake damaged a mall shopping center and scores of houses in three locations, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told Xinhua.

Risk assessment on the impact of the quake was being undertaken now, he added.

The earthquake, which was initially measured at 6.8 magnitude, but was later revised up to 7.0, briefly triggered a tsunami warning.

The quake struck at 18:46 p.m. local time (1146 GMT) with an epicenter 18 km northwest of Lombok Timur in West Nusa Tenggara province and a depth of 15 km.

The tsunami warning was lifted at 20:25 p.m. local time (1325 GMT) by the meteorology and geophysics agency.

"The tsunami was only recorded at the height of below 13 cm," Biana Rahayu from the agency said.

At least nine aftershocks were recorded with the strongest magnitude of 4.9.

People were advised to stay away from the coastline before the tsunami warning was lifted, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo said.

The tremor came after a 6.4-magnitude quake left 16 people dead and 355 others injured on Lombok island last Sunday.

Over 500 hikers were stranded last week on a volcano as the devastating quake triggered landslides on Mount Rinjani, a popular tourist destination that draws hundreds of thousands of climbers every year.

Indonesia sees frequent quakes as it sits on a vulnerable quake-prone zone of "the Pacific Ring of Fire."

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