Tourists wait for flights in Praya airport in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. (Source: EPA/VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – More than 2,000 tourists have been evacuated to safe places on August 6after a magnitude 7 earthquake killed at least 98 people on the resort islandof Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
Rescuers are stillsearching for survivors in ruined houses, temples and schools due to theearthquake on August 5.
About 2,000-2,700tourists were evacuated from Gili islands off the northwest coast of Lombok,where fears of another tsunami spread.
The NationalDisaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB)’s spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said thatthe death toll is likely to rise, and all the dead victims were Indonesian.
The earthquakeforced about 20,000 people to leave their houses in Lombok, leading to anurgent demand for food and medicine.
Meanwhile, theshortage of heavy machinery and the damage of roads hindered rescuers fromsaving the survivors in northern and eastern mountainous region of Lombok, thehardest hit areas by the disaster.
Authorities ofNorthern Lombok said that about 80 percent of the areas have been damaged byearthquake. Some regions of Lombok have still suffered from power loss.
The BaliInternational Airport and Lombok Airport have maintained their normal operations.
Indonesia sits onthe Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes. In 2004, theIndian Ocean tsunami killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than120,000 in Indonesia.-VNA
VNA
