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Deadly quake hits near Indonesia’s famous resort, 10 killed

Sunday, 29 July 2018 4:19 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 29 July 2018 10:41 AM ]

This handout photograph, taken on July 29, 2018 and released by the Nusa Tenggara Barat Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), shows an Indonesian person scrambling over the ruins of a house as others look on following an earthquake in Lombok. (Via AFP)

A strong earthquake measuring 6.4 has struck an island east of the Indonesian tourist resort of Bali, leaving at least 14 people dead.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake, which struck Indonesia’s Lombok Island early on Sunday, was followed less than an hour later by a 5.4-magnitude aftershock in the same area.

The epicenter of the quake was about 110 km northeast of the island’s main city of Mataram and was very shallow, which amplified its effect.

The earthquake was on land and did not trigger any waves or a tsunami.

The earthquake has injured scores if people and damaged dozens of houses. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, said, “We estimate the number will keep rising because we are not done collecting data.”

This handout photograph, taken on July 29, 2018 and released by the Nusa Tenggara Barat Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), shows an Indonesian man standing among the ruins of a house following an earthquake in Lombok. (Via AFP)

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due to 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 triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Volcanic activity is likely following the Sunday quake, and travelers are advised to avoid the Mount Agung crater in east Bali and the Mount Sinabung crater in Kalo Regency, North Sumatra.

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