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Panic in Lombok after magnitude 7 quake hits

A magnitude 7

Panca Nugraha, Ni Komang Erviani and Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post)
Mataram/Denpasar/Kupang
Mon, August 6, 2018

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Panic in Lombok after magnitude 7 quake hits

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magnitude 7.0 earthquake jolted the island of Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara on Sunday, causing alarm among residents who responded to a warning from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) that a tsunami could be triggered by the temblor.

No casualties were reported in the quake, which took place exactly one week after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the island, killing 17 people.

The BMKG said Sunday’s earthquake struck Lombok at 7:46 p.m. local time, with an epicenter located 18 kilometers southwest of East Lombok at a depth of 15 km.

The agency immediately placed the northern part of East and West Lombok on a tsunami alert and warned locals that the first wave to hit the region might not be the highest. The alert was eventually revoked at around 9:30 p.m. local time.

“Tsunami waves hit the coast, but only at a height of 9 to 13 centimeters. The waves didn’t cause damage or casualties,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement on Sunday.

The tsunami warning triggered panic among residents, especially those living on the island’s coastal areas.

Based on The Jakarta Post’s observation, residents living in West Lombok were seen fleeing their homes for higher ground after learning about the tsunami alert. A group of residents were seen gathering at Sangkareang field in Mataram, located next to the mayor’s office.

Several accidents were also reported, with a number of people being hit by speeding cars and motorcycles. Streets in and around the provincial capital Mataram were clogged by vehicles that had been parked on the roadside after ferrying people to higher ground.

Mataram was hit by a major power outage that occurred immediately after the first tremor hit. A number of two-story houses and shop houses were also seen to be damaged by the earthquake.

Lombok International Airport halted operations immediately after the first quake but they were resumed at 8:30 p.m. local time. No significant damage was reported at the airport, with only minor damage to facilities in the terminal.

Security authorities from the provincial and city administrations were reportedly thin on the ground during the first hour after the quake, and the first substantial group of police personnel appeared around one or two hours after the tremor.

The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) was among the first to dispatch volunteers to help residents affected by the quake. Authorities continued gathering information regarding casualties, with the PMI reporting that at least two people were injured by falling debris.

The jolt was felt in neighboring Bali, as well as Jember and Sidoarjo in East Java. In Bali, residents and tourists scrambled out of homes, shops and malls across the island.

Johnny, a 48-year-old Jakarta resident on vacation in Jimbaran, South Kuta, said his dinner with a group of friends at a Jimbaran mall was interrupted by the tremor.

“We felt very strong shaking and we saw the ceiling and lamps move,” he told the Post. “We were very surprised. People started to run out of the building.”

He added that the tremor was felt for 15 to 20 seconds but caused no damage to the mall.

Several buildings, however, did sustain some damage, including Denpasar Cathedral.

Many houses and temples in the southeastern Klungkung district were also reported to have been damaged by the quake.

Facilities at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport also experienced some minor damage, but an airport spokesperson Arie Ahsanurrohim maintained that operations continued as normal.

“Repair work will be conducted as soon as possible, in less than 24 hours, because they are not related to the building’s structure,” Arie said.

An hour before the earthquake hit Lombok, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck Ngada regency on Flores Island in neighboring East Nusa Tenggara. The epicenter was located 89 km southeast of the regency at a depth of 114 km.

Another 5.6 earthquake also jolted the Mentawai Islands in West Sumatra, with the epicenter 38 km southwest of the islands and around 22 km beneath the seabed.

— Kharishar Kahfi and Karina M. Tehusijarana contributed to the story from Jakarta

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