29 August 2023 09:57 am Views - 1607
A 7-magnitude earthquake struck the Bali Sea region of Indonesia early on Tuesday morning, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.
The quake’s epicentre was 203km north of Mataram, Indonesia, and very deep at 516km below the earth’s surface, EMSC said.
The US Geological Survey pegged the magnitude at 7.1.
The quake was felt just before 4am local time across coastal areas in Bali and Lombok and was followed by two quakes of 6.1 and 6.5 magnitude, according to the Indonesian Geological Agency.
Guests at Bali’s Mercure Kuta ran out of their rooms after feeling the tremor for a few seconds, hotel manager Suadi told Reuters by phone.
“Several guests left their rooms but were still in the hotel area,” he said, adding they had since returned and there was no damage to the building.
One man said his hotel was “swaying” during what was described as a minutes-long shake on social media.
“Hey, everyone. Woke up at 4am here in Bali with hotel swaying. Earthquake. Just posting to say my daughter and I are safe. Prayers for anyone affected by this event,” one traveller tweeted.
“Stay safe semeton (brothers and sisters) in Bali, I’m really afraid there will be follow-ups,” a Javanese man tweeted.
Former Western Australia government commissioner to Indonesia Ross Taylor also posted on social media platform X, saying: “Our villa in Seminyak was shaking for around two minutes. Really frightening.”
There were no immediate reports of damage, Indonesian disaster agency BNPB said.
“The quake is deep so it should not be destructive,” BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari said.
The US warning system said there were no threats of a tsunami as a result of the earthquake that struck deep under the seabed.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties although a few accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted videos of tremors being felt. REUTERS