Powerful earthquake strikes Indonesia, killing dozens

FAN Editor

Last Updated Aug 5, 2018 8:12 PM EDT

MATARAM, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday, killing at least 82 people and shaking neighboring Bali, one week after another quake killed more than a dozen on the island.

The latest quake, which triggered a brief tsunami warning, damaged buildings as far away as Denpasar on Bali, including a department store and the airport terminal, where ceiling panels were shaken loose, authorities said.

Video showed screaming people running in panic from houses in a Bali neighborhood and vehicles rocking. On Lombok, soldiers and other rescuers carried injured people on stretchers and carpets to an evacuation center.

The quake, recorded at magnitude 7.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey, struck early Sunday evening at a depth of 6 miles in the northern part of Lombok.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the toll had risen 82 with hundreds others were injured. Earlier officials said at least 39 people had died.

A total of 65 of the deaths 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, Nugroho said. Thousands of houses were damaged, and most of the dead victims were hit by collapsed houses, he said.

Chrissy Teigen, along with her husband John Legend and their two children, felt the quake during their vacation in Bali. Teigen live-tweeted what she and her family experienced Sunday.

A tsunami warning was lifted after waves just 6 inches high were recorded in three villages, said Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

The quake was felt strongly across Lombok and Bali and had damaged houses on both islands, Nugroho said.

“I was watching TV when I felt a big shake,” said Harian, a Lombok woman who uses one name. “The lamp was shaking, and people were shouting ‘Get out.’ I ran out into the dark because the power cut off.”

Frightened people poured out of their homes to move to higher ground, particularly in North Lombok and Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province, said Iwan Asmara, a Lombok disaster official.

Patients are evacuated outside to the Mataram City hospital parking lot after a strong earthquake in Mataram, Lombok island

Patients are evacuated outside a local hospital in Mataram on Sunday, August 5, 2018.

Reuters

The Bali and Lombok airports continued operating Sunday night, according to the director general of civil aviation. There had been a half-hour evacuation at the Lombok airport following the quake because the electricity went off. TV showed crying women consoling each other outside Lombok’s airport.

The island was already reeling from a magnitude 6.4 quake on July 29, which killed 16 people.

Like Bali, Lombok is known for pristine beaches and mountains. Hotels and other buildings in both locations are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

© 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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