Breaking: 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Lombok, Bali

One week after Lombok was hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake which killed 17 people, the island and neighbouring Bali have been struck by a 7.0 magnitude quake. The earthquake struck at 9:46pm on Sunday night and has unfortunately taken the lives of at least 82 individuals, with many more being injured.  

The quake occurred in the Northern parts of Lombok at a depth of 10.5 kilometres. Consequently most of the damage has been felt in this northern region and the western parts of Lombok, although damage has also been sustained over in Bali.

A snapshot of some of the damage sustained on the island of Lombok. Photo: AP/Firdia Lisniwati

The Tsunami warning which was initially released has since been revoked after 15 centimetre waves, presumed to have been caused by the quake, were recored in some villages. 

“I know people were trapped in the Gillis under buildings, and Lombok waters rose…I’m not sure of the exact damage but it got hit worse than people think.” Tai ‘Buddha’ Graham told Stab about the tragic night in Indonesia. 

The Singapore Law and Home Affairs Minister, K Shanmugam, also wrote the following about the earthquake’s impact on Lombok on his Facebook page. 

“Came out, and made my way down a staircase, while building was still shaking. Power went out for a while. Lots of cracks, fallen doors…it was quite impossible to stand up.”

Residents in Lombok left their houses last night for open areas to avoid falling objects from their own and nearby buildings; although many were unfortunately trapped before they could escape.

Relief efforts have continued through the night, with soldiers and other rescuers carrying injured survivors out for medical assistance at nearby evacuation centres. It is difficult to truly assess the state of the damage under nightfall and further relief efforts will be required once daybreaks in a couple of hours. 

One of the local evacuation centres on Lombok. Photo: AP

Lombok airport was also evacuated for 30 minutes following the quake, but has since resumed operations as normal. 

The shockwaves have also been felt in neighbouring Bali, with Bali’s Denpasar airport sustaining damage, although it remained open through the remainder of Sunday night. Other parts of Bali, such as buildings on Sunset Road, have also been seriously damaged by the earthquake overnight. 

Some of the impacts of the earthquake at Bali’s airport. Photo: Twitter/David Lipson.

The region of Indonesia is prone to these frequent and damaging earthquakes due to its close proximity to what is known as the Pacific “Ring Of Fire”, comprised of a number of volatile volcanos and shifting fault lines throughout the Pacific Basin. 

Our best wishes go out to all of those locals and visitors caught up in the earthquake, particularly the friends and families of those who have died as a result. 

We’ll update this information as more comes in.