At least 10 people were killed by strong tremors that rocked Indonesia's Lombok over the weekend, authorities said, following a series of earthquakes that killed hundreds and forced thousands to flee their homes in recent weeks.
A series of powerful earthquakes have rocked the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok, killing at least 10 people and setting off fresh waves of panic after nearly 500 died there following a huge tremor two weeks ago. Photo: AFP
Nearly 500 people have died in quakes and aftershocks since 29 July at the holiday island, which lies just east of Bali.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman at the national disaster mitigation agency, said relief and reconstruction efforts had been "intensified".
"The rebuilding of public facilities like hospitals and schools is being speeded up," he said.
He said more than 100 aftershocks had been recorded since the weekend's magnitude 6.9 quake, which sent panicked residents into the streets and cut power and communication lines across the island.
Aftershocks ranging between magnitude 4 and 5 were continuing on Monday and access to some areas had been cut off by landslides triggered by the tremors, according to officials in Lombok's main city.
Sunday's quake came a fortnight after another 6.9 magnitude earthquake which killed around 460 people and prompted massive search, rescue and relief efforts.
Authorities estimate that the 5 August earthquake caused 5 trillion rupiah ($342 million) of damage on Lombok.
Hundreds of thousands of residents have been left homeless and are camped out in open fields, refusing to shelter indoors due to continuing tremors.
Aid organizations like Save The Children said they were "ready to scale up their humanitarian response".
"The population feels like it's had the rug pulled from under them with this new quake," said Caroline Haga, humanitarian & emergency communications specialist with the Red Cross.
- Reuters