At least 82 killed as 7.0 magnitude earthquake hits off Lombok island in Indonesia (VIDEO)
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake has hit along the coast of Indonesia’s Lombok island killing at least 82 people, authorities said. A tsunami warning was also issued, but called off a few hours later.
The death toll has increased to at least 82 from initial reports of 32, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Thousands of people have been evacuated, and hundreds are believed to be injured.
Recorded to the north of the tropical island destination, the earthquake happened around 6:46pm local time.
#Pemutakhiran,Peringatan Dini Tsunami di NTB, Gempa Mag:7.0, 05-Aug-18 18:46:35WIB, Lok:8.37LS,116.48BT,Kdlmn:15Km#BMKG pic.twitter.com/BvxnE7vq2B
— BMKG (@infoBMKG) August 5, 2018
The Indonesian government’s geological agency BMKG initially issued a tsunami warning, but lifted it several hours later. Seawater had entered two villages in Lombok at the level of 10 to 13 centimeters, Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the agency for meteorology, climatology and geophysics, told local television news.
Initial reports suggest the earthquake happened at a depth of 10.5 kilometers. People have been urged to follow safety procedures set in place by the emergency services.
Footage appearing to show the impact of aftershocks have already appeared online.
#earthquake #bali @NOS @telegraaf pic.twitter.com/ZdCUVd6H2X
— Jarda Meijer (@jarda98084605) August 5, 2018
The quake was felt on the neighboring Bali island, according to reports on social media.
M6.8 earthquake in Lombok, second big one there in a week. Felt it at our villa in Legian pic.twitter.com/J81W2PafuU
— Gian De Poloni (@GianDePoloni) August 5, 2018
One visiting tourist to Bali, James, described the quake as “the craziest thing I’ve ever felt.”
Footage provided by him to RT.com reveals how his resort swimming pool was rocked by the earthquake.
Sunday’s earthquake is the second to hit the island in a week after a 6.4 magnitude quake left 14 people dead in the area last weekend.
Lombok has a population of just more than 3 million people. The island is also a popular backpacker destination.
- Source : RT
