Death toll from Indonesia quake rises to 82

6 August 2018 08:29 am Views - 3556

At least 82 people are now known to have died after a powerful earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Lombok.

Hundreds of people have been wounded by Sunday's quake, disaster management officials have said.

The magnitude seven tremor was shallow, happening only 10km (6.21 miles) underground. It damaged thousands of buildings and triggered power cuts.

On the neighbouring island of Bali, video footage showed people running from their homes screaming.

It comes a week after another quake hit Lombok, a popular tourist site for its beaches and hiking trails, killing at least 16 people.

A tsunami warning was issued but was lifted after a few hours.

A spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency told the AFP news agency that many buildings had been affected in Lombok's main city of Mataram, most of them built with weak construction materials.

Mataram residents described a powerful jolt that sent people fleeing from buildings.

"Everyone immediately ran out of their homes, everyone is panicking," one resident named as Iman said.

In several parts of Mataram, there were electricity blackouts.

Patients at the city hospital, and also at Denpasar hospital in Bali, were evacuated and tended to by doctors in the streets.(BBC)