Two Died and Several Injured in North Lombok Earthquake

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The 5.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted North Lombok District area in the Indonesian province of West Nusa Tenggara on Sunday caused two people killed and several others to sustain injuries, a local government official said.

The earthquake had triggered landslides causing around 40 tourists to get trapped in the tourist site of Tiu Kelep waterfall in Senaru Village, North Lombok District. Most of the tourists are from Malaysia, Spokesman of the district government Mujaddin Muhas said.

To support the rescue and evacuation efforts, the North Lombok Disaster Mitigation Agency and Health Office authorities had sent several personnel of the emergency medical services and four ambulances to the disaster zone, he told Antara.

Five victims could have been evacuated from the landslide-hit area, he said, adding that two of them died while several others sustained injuries. One of the wounded survivors was hospitalized at Bayan Community Health Center.

Muhas said the Tiu Kelep waterfall could be reached by around 45-minute walk from the main Senaru road.

The tourists wishing to go to the waterfall should pass by a footpath where, along their way to the tourist site, they could still see certain areas that had ever been struck by landslides in the aftermath of the earthquakes in July and August 2018, he said.

Read also: Earthquake Hits Lombok; No Tsunami Potential

Certain areas of West Nusa Tenggara Province, including North Lombok Distrit, were rocked by the 5.8-magnitude earthquake on Sunday at around 02.07 pm local time but it did not trigger a tsunami.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the earthquake's epicenter was located around 24 km east of East Lombok District, 36 km northeast of North Lombok District, 37 km northwest of Panjang Island in Sumbawa District, and 63 km northeast of Mataram, the capital city of West Nusa Tenggara Province.

Indonesia lies on the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

As a result, several parts of the archipelago are prone to earthquakes, including the deadly earthquakes in Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara Province, and Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi Province.

During 2018, Indonesia was hit by a total of 11,577 earthquakes, including several of them that caused serious casualties, with the number increasing significantly as compared to that in 2017.

A string of strong earthquakes that repeatedly rocked Lombok Island in 2018 had caused serious catastrophes.

As a result of the strong earthquakes, including the 7.0-magnitude quake that shook Lombok Island on August 5, at least 555 people were killed, and 829 others got injured.

The majority of the fatalities were residents of North Lombok District areas, due to their close proximity to the strong earthquake`s epicenter. The repeated earthquakes have also damaged 23,098 houses and forced 134,236 people to be displaced.

ANTARA