People look at the ruins of a building at a shopping center in Denpasar, Bali, following an earthquake on Sunday. The magnitude seven earthquake occurred in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, causing damage to buildings in various locations around Bali and injuring a number of people.
MATARAM, KOMPAS — Lombok Island in West Nusa Tenggara was again rocked by an earthquake. This time it was stronger, and the earthquake also affected western and southern regions of the archipelago.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, Sunday (05/08/2018), at 7:46 p.m. local time. After the main earthquake, there were 21 aftershocks with smaller intensities. The tremors were felt in Bali, Flores and even in a number of areas in East Java. At the same time there were earthquakes in Gunung Kidul regency and Mentawai regency, West Sumatra.
The earthquake in Lombok shocked local residents. In Mataram city, residents panicked and ran out of their houses. Walls and windows of several buildings collapsed. "When standing up, suddenly I felt shaking. This is the first time for me to feel a big earthquake shake like this," said Anastacia Nariswari, a resident of Mataram city.
According to Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) chairman Dwikorita Karnawati, the earthquake that shook East Lombok was the main earthquake from the previous series of earthquakes in Lombok on July 29. This earthquake was also shallow, which occurred as a result of the Flores thrust fault.
"The earthquake was generated from the rock deformation with a thrust fault mechanism. The epicenter was almost the same as the earthquake that occurred on July 29 in Lombok," Dwikorita said in Jakarta.
The East Lombok earthquake was a tectonic earthquake with an epicenter at 8.30 degrees of the south latitude and 116.48 degrees of the east longitude, which is on the northeastern slope of Mount Rinjani, or about 18 kilometers to the west of East Lombok, at a depth of 15 km.
GIGIN SUGIYANTO
Patients are treated at an emergency unit at Risa Sentra Medika Hospital in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, after an earthquake on Sunday.
Panic and running
On the highways, a number of vehicles nearly collided because of the shaking. Speeds suddenly decreased, and walls of a number of buildings collapsed. Moreover, electricity in several areas went out. Local residents did not dare enter their houses until midnight. Many of them took refuge in the yards of the houses or fields, sitting on mats. Makeshift tents were also built in a number of safe places.
Mataram Mayor Ahyar Abduh appealed to local residents to remain calm.
East Lombok Earthquake Disaster Management Task Force deputy commander Maj. (Inf.) Arifianto said the residents evacuated on their own and stayed in the yards and terraces of their houses. When the earthquake struck, they were outside their house.
"The number of evacuees still cannot be calculated because until 9:30 p.m. they were still being evacuated. We were sweeping the houses to evacuate the residents," he said.
The houses, which were partly damaged last week and were still standing, collapsed.
A researcher from the Geotechnology Research Center of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Mudrik R. Daryono, explained that the source of the earthquake that occurred on Sunday night was in the segment adjacent to the Lombok segment, which experienced a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on July 29. The first earthquake that rocked Lombok last week originated from segments in the north of Lombok Island.
Airport is normal
Corporate communications senior manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Awaluddin explained that Lombok Praya Airport\'s operational activities had returned to normal. There was no damage to the airside of facilities, such as runways, taxiways and aprons. There was only minor damage to the terminal facilities.
"Electricity at the airport went out around 8:00 p.m. However, by 8:30 p.m., prospective passengers had returned to the terminal waiting area," Awaluddin said.
At I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, there was also no damage to the airside facilities. Operations ran normally even though there was slight damage to some supporting facilities at the terminal.
"To maintain passenger safety and security, we are currently checking and cleaning various amenities and facilities in all areas, both at the terminal and the airside affected by the earthquake measuring magnitude 7.0. Angkasa Pura I apologizes for any inconvenience that may arise due to the cleaning of amenities or facilities affected in the terminal area," Awaluddin said.
From the monitoring in Denpasar city, the walls of a number of buildings collapsed and roof tiles fell.
In Flores it was reported that before the Lombok earthquake occurred, at 6:50 p.m. a tectonic earthquake occurred in the Sawu Sea region, East Nusa Tenggara, with a magnitude of 5.2. The earthquake was about 83 km southwest of Ende City, at a depth of 110 km, at coordinates on 9.5 south latitude and 121.28 east longitude.
A 4.5 magnitude earthquake also occurred in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, Sunday (08/05/2018) evening at 7:24 p.m. (SYA/ ZAK/ KOR/HRS/ COK/ARN/ E06/E05/ IKA/ YUN)
