Tourists were evacuated from Gili Trawangan island near Lombok on August 6 (Source: Xinhua/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) - Around 7,000 foreign tourists had been evacuated from Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and Gili Meno islands in Indonesia as of August 7, after a recent 7-magnitude earthquake struck the nearby tourist island of Lombok with the death toll climbing to 105.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said the Indonesian government has deployed more ships, buses and aircraft to support the evacuation of tourists from Lombok to Bali.
Dozens of buses have been sent to carry holidaymakers to Lombok airport and Mataram city, he said, adding that some airlines such as Citilink Airlines and Garuda have increased flights to speed up the evacuation efforts.
The Indonesian government has also extended the airport operation to 24 hours, provided extra flights for several destinations from the airport, and scrapped the fine for foreign tourists whose visa have exceeded the period due to the earthquake.
Muhammad Rum, head of the local Disaster Mitigation Office, said the economic loss of the earthquake that occurred on August 5 could amount to 1 trillion rupiah (nearly 72 million USD).
Up to 230 aftershocks were recorded following the quake. More aftershocks are forecast to occur in the next few weeks.
Nearly 240 people were seriously injured in the quake. Over 20,000 others in Lombok lost their houses.
Indonesia, an archipelago of thousands of islands, sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismic activity hotspot.
It is frequently hit by earthquakes, most of them harmless. However, the region remains acutely alert to tremors that might trigger tsunamis.-VNA
VNA
