JAKARTA, Indonesia — A magnitude 7.0 quake has killed at least 89 people, injured hundreds and displaced thousands of others on and around the popular tourist island of Lombok, disaster officials reported early Monday local time.
The quake struck early Sunday evening at a depth of 9.3 miles, shaking a region still recovering from a magnitude 6.4 quake last week that left 20 dead and briefly stranded hundreds of hikers who were eventually rescued.
Identities of victims in the latest quake weren’t immediately released, but Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said that the death toll was expected to increase as search-and-rescue teams extended their operations.
Indonesian television showed thousands of people fleeing their houses for higher ground and rushing for safety on motorbikes to escape a feared tsunami after a warning was issued. The warning was later withdrawn. Crowds were also shown running from shopping malls and other public areas in the island’s main city, Mataram. Indonesia’s main tourist island, Bali, to the west of Lombok, suffered minor damage, and the small Gili islands north of Lombok were also struck, authorities said.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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