Indonesia earthquake: Strong tremor shakes Lombok island

Poweful earthquake there earlier this month killed more than 430 people

A landslide is seen after an earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, on Sunday  in this still image obtained from a social media video. Photograph: Reuters
A landslide is seen after an earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, on Sunday in this still image obtained from a social media video. Photograph: Reuters

A fresh tremor of 6.3 magnitude struck the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok, the US Geological Survey said on Sunday, after an earthquake killed more than 430 people there this month.

USGS estimated the depth of the latest tremor at 7.9km and said the epicentre was on the northeastern shoulder of the island at the foot of Mount Rinjani. There was no tsunami warning, and authorities later said there had been only minor injuries and limited damage.

Lombok, just east of Bali, the southeast Asian country's most famous tourist destination, has been rocked by a series of quakes and aftershocks since July 29th, including a 6.9-magnitude tremor on August 5th.

Disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said via Twitter that so far only one person had been lightly injured, two people had fainted and several houses were damaged in the eastern part of the island.

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"It was very strong. All the lights went out," Asmaatul Husna said at a shopping mall where she works in Lombok's main town, Mataram.

Nugroho said activity on the island was normal and Mount Rinjani, where hundreds of trekkers were stranded after the July 29th quake, was closed and there were no tourists there.

Lombok suffered damage running to more than 5 trillion rupiah (€299 million) from the August 5th earthquake, authorities said last week, putting the death toll at more than 430.

More than 350,000 people fled their homes after that quake to shelter in government-provided tents or makeshift structures in open fields.

Authorities said aid was slow getting to some of the hardest-hit areas as they are remote. - Reuters