Multiple earthquakes jolt Indonesia's Lombok island and Subawa; at least 12 killed
SEMBALUN, Indonesia — Multiple strong earthquakes killed at least a dozen people on the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Sumbawa as the region was trying to recover from a temblor earlier this month that killed hundreds of people.
A shallow magnitude 6.9 quake that hit about 10 p.m. was one of several powerful earthquakes Sunday in the northeast of Lombok that also caused landslides. The nighttime quake was followed by strong aftershocks.
At least 10 people on Lombok and neighboring Sumbawa island were killed by collapsing buildings or heart attacks, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Monday. Two people died earlier Sunday on Lombok during a magnitude 6.3 quake.
More than 1,800 houses were damaged, at least half of them severely, he said.
An Associated Press reporter on Lombok said the latest in the flurry of quakes caused panic and power blackouts in parts of the island. There were was no immediate information about damage or casualties.
The daytime quakes caused landslides on the slopes of Mount Rinjani, an active volcano, and panic in villages. Video shot by the Indonesian Red Cross showed huge clouds of dust billowing from the mountain's slopes. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said one person died from a heart attack during the biggest of the daytime quakes and nearly 100 houses near the epicenter were severely damaged.
The shaking from the daytime quakes toppled motorcycles and damaged buildings in Lombok's Sembalun subdistrict, including a community hall that collapsed. The hall had sustained damage in earlier quakes, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
"It was very strong. All the lights went out," Asmaatul Husna, an employee at a shopping mall in Mataram, told Reuters.
A magnitude 7.0 quake that struck Lombok on Aug. 5 killed 460 people, damaged tens of thousands of homes and displaced several hundred thousand people.
Mount Rinjani has been closed to visitors following a July earthquake that killed 16 people, triggered landslides and stranded hundreds of tourists on the mountain.
Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago that straddles the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.