“Indonesian Government officials are trying to coordinate a massive relief effort for residents and tourists on the island of Lombok with the death toll from Sunday’s earthquake standing at 105, and many more missing.” More than 120 aftershocks were recorded after Sunday evening’s (August 5) quake. The island was further rattled by a magnitude-5.2 earthquake the next day. More than 10,000 people have evacuated from the island.
“The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said it expected the death toll to rise once the rubble of more than 13,000 houses was cleared away after two powerful quakes in a week.
“Power and communications were severed in some areas, hampering the search for missing people, with landslides and a collapsed bridge blocking access to areas around the epicenter in the north.
“Tiffany Law from the Red Cross said the regional areas were hit the hardest. “The city itself does not look too badly affected, however the further you go, the more remote areas, that’s where you start to see damage,” she said. “You see landslides, you see homes with roofs destroyed. Also where structures are completely damaged or completely collapsed. We’ve also seen families living in makeshift tents.”
“Several hundred foreigners spent a second night with no electricity or water on the Gili Islands, off the northwest coast of Lombok, after rescue boats ran out of fuel.
“BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said emergency units in its hospitals were overflowing and some patients were being treated in parking lots. The main hospital in the town of Tanjung in the north was severely damaged, so staff set up about 30 beds in the shade of trees and in a tent on a field…
“Lombok had already been hit on July 29 by a magnitude-6.4 quake that killed 17 people and briefly stranded several hundred trekkers on the slopes of a volcano.
“At magnitude 6.9, Sunday’s quake released more than five times the energy of the earlier one, the United States Geological Survey website said. The tremor was powerful enough to be felt on the neighbouring island of Bali, where BNPB said two people died.
“Despite it being a popular tourist destination, no foreigners were recorded among the dead, BNPB spokesman Nugroho told a news conference. More than 230 people were injured and more than 20,000 displaced, he said.
British-based charity Oxfam said it was providing clean drinking water and tarpaulin shelter sheets to 5,000 people, and planned to intensify aid delivery.
Among those displaced were residents of a northern village called Mentigi, who fled to nearby hills. Blue tarpaulins dotted the landscape as people prepared to spend the night outdoors because of aftershocks or because their homes were destroyed.
Sengiggi, a seaside tourist strip on Lombok, looked abandoned. Amid collapsed homes, most hotels seemed to have shut and beaches were deserted. The few restaurants left open were rationing food.
Long lines formed at the airport of Lombok’s main town, Mataram, as foreign visitors cut their holidays short. BNPB said 18 extra flights had been added for leaving tourists.
“And there shall be… earthquakes in divers places.” Matthew 24:7.
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