The death toll from a magnitude 7.0 quake to hit Indonesia's tourist island of Lombok has risen to 82 with thousands of people evacuated, disaster officials say.
The powerful earthquake rocked Indonesia's Lombok in the early hours of 6 August, sending people running from their homes and triggering a brief tsunami alert. Photo: AFP
The quake struck Lombok at a depth of 10km, a week after a 6.4 tremor hit Lombok on 29 July, killing 14 people and injuring 162 people.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency placed the death toll from the most recent quake at 82, more than doubling its earlier figure of 32. Many of the dead were from northern and western parts of Lombok.
The tremors prompted a large-scale evacuation of a nearby volcano.
Thousands of people were evacuated from buildings to outdoor shelters, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
Singapore Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, who was in Lombok at the time of the quake, wrote on Facebook that his 10th-floor hotel room shook violently and walls cracked.
"It was quite impossible to stand up. Heard screams," he wrote. "Came out, and made my way down a staircase, while building was still shaking. Power went out for a while. Lots of cracks, fallen doors."
Power cuts were affecting most of the island of Lombok, media cited the head of the local disaster mitigation agency as saying. The extent of damage was not yet clear.
Travelers at the international airports in Bali and Lombok were thrown into panic and there was minor damage to the buildings, but operations were not disrupted, officials said.
The quake was felt for several seconds in Bali, where people ran out of houses, hotels, and restaurants.
"All the hotel guests were running, so I did too. People filled the streets," said Michelle Lindsay, an Australian tourist. "A lot of officials were urging people not to panic."
Other witnesses said the initial quake grew in intensity over several seconds, rattling windows and doors, and there were many aftershocks.
The country's disaster management agency urged people to stay away from the sea. However, an initial warning of a tsunami with waves of up to half a meter was later withdrawn.
Hospital patients and relatives wait outside after being evacuated after an earthquake rocked Indonesia's Lombok island. Photo: AFP
There are currently nine New Zealanders registered as being on Lombok.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta was working to get more information following today's earthquake on the island.
All New Zealanders on Lombok are being advised to register their details on the ministry's safe travel website and let their families in New Zealand know that they are safe.
They can also contact the New Zealand embassy if they need assistance.
Overall 447 New Zealanders are registered as being in Indonesia.
-Reuters / BBC / RNZ