Indonesia's Lombok Island Shakes Again by 6.3-Magnitude Earthquake
A powerful earthquake has left residents of Lombok island in panic, coming two weeks after an earthquake killed 460 people.
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| A boy walks through rubble in the Gangga area of Lombok island, Indonesia on August 12 after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook the island. Photo: AFP. |
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck at a depth of about 7 km today near the town of Belanting, east of Lombok Island, Indonesia, the US Geological Survey said.
"The earthquake caused people to panic and run out of their homes. We are still checking,"Metro TVSutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's national disaster management agency, said. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries.
"I was driving to deliver aid to the evacuees when suddenly the electric pole shook. I realized it was an earthquake. People started screaming and crying. They all ran into the street," said Augus Salim, a resident of eastern Lombok island.AFP.People in Mataram, Lombok's largest city, and nearby Bali island also felt the tremors.
The quake comes two weeks after a magnitude 6.9 quake flattened tens of thousands of buildings on the island of Lombok, killing more than 460 people, injuring tens of thousands, and forcing 350,000 to evacuate. The worst-hit area was the north of the island.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates collide, and is regularly hit by earthquakes and volcanoes. In 2004, a tsunami triggered by a 9.3-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, western Indonesia, killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
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| Location of Lombok Island, Indonesia, where a 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred today. Photo: USGS. |
