5 killed, over 40 injured as strong quakes strike off again Indonesia's Lombok

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-20 10:37:23|Editor: ZD
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JAKARTA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 40 others wounded as quakes measuring 6.5 and revised 6.9 magnitude rocked again Lombok Island in central Indonesia on Sunday morning and evening, a senior disaster agency official said on Monday.

The jolts amplified damages resulted from the 6.4 and 7.0 magnitude quakes hitting the island earlier on July 27 and Aug. 5, head of emergency unit of disaster management agency Agung Pramudja said.

The official said that a preliminary report indicated that at least 200 houses were seriously destroyed by the temblor.

"The shakes incited significant damages and many residents have fled home and taken shelters in makeshift encampment," he told Xinhua from the province.

The official said that the assessment of the further risks of the jolts is being undertaken.

The two quakes with scales of 6.5 and 6.9 magnitude rattled Lombok Island on Sunday but no tsunami alert was issued.

The first one jolted at 11:10 a.m. Jakarta time (0410 GMT) with epicenter at 32 km East Lombok of West Nusa Tenggara province in western parts of the island and a depth of 10 km, the agency said.

The other struck at 9:56 p.m. Jakarta time (1456 GMT) with an epicenter at 30 km northeast East Lombok district of West Nusa Tenggara province and a depth of 10 km, it said.

The latest figure put the total death toll of the quake since July 27 to at least 465, according to the the data from the disaster agency.

Indonesia is prone to quake as it lies on a vulnerable quake-hit zone of "the Pacific Ring of Fire."

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