At least 10 people are dead after a string of powerful quakes rocked the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok, authorities said today, in a fresh blow just weeks after earlier tremors left hundreds dead and thousands more homeless.
The latest quakes struck yesterday, with the first measuring 6.3 shortly before midday. It triggered landslides and sent people fleeing for cover as parts of Lombok suffered blackouts.
It was followed nearly 12 hours later by a 6.9-magnitude quake and a string of powerful aftershocks.
The picturesque island next to holiday hotspot Bali was already reeling from two deadly quakes on July 29 and August 5 that killed nearly 500 people.
Ten people were killed in the strong quake Sunday evening, mostly by falling debris, including six people on the neighbouring island of Sumbawa, according to the national disaster agency.
Some two dozen people were injured in Lombok and more than 150 homes and places of worship damaged, the agency said.
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Tens of thousands of homes, mosques and businesses across Lombok had already been destroyed by the quake earlier this month.
Most people caught in the latest tremor had been outside their homes or at shelters when it struck which kept casualties low, said national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
"The trauma because of the earlier quake on Sunday (morning) made people prefer to stay outside," he added.
Aid agencies vowed to boost humanitarian assistance on the island as devastated residents struggle in makeshift displacement camps.
Indonesia's disaster agency said it was accelerating efforts to rebuild destroyed homes, hospitals and schools, while Save the Children pledged to escalate its humanitarian response.
"We are gravely concerned about the repeated distress caused to children by the multiple shocks," the relief agency said.
Video images from an evacuation camp in Lombok showed children and adults taking cover inside makeshift tents.
"I'm too scared to stay at my house because it's damaged," said resident Saruniwati, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "I've been here since the quake (earlier this month). I went home two days ago and now I'm back here again."
Local Agus Salim said the powerful tremor jolted him awake yesterday evening. "The earthquake was incredibly strong. Everything was shaking," he told AFP. "Everyone ran into the street screaming and crying."
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