Natural disaster continues to strike Indonesia’s Lombok, with severe damage to roads and power outages in some spots.
The island has experienced heavy landslides triggered by a strong 6.5 earthquake Sunday afternoon and even more damage from a series of more shakes in the following hours, including a 7.0 earthquake that same evening, that’s killed at least 10.
The epicenter of the 6.5 earthquake was about 32 kilometers northeast of East Lombok regency while the 7.0 was recorded 30 kilometers east of East Lombok regency, according to the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).
A collection of videos have quickly gone viral showing clouds of dirt flying up to the sky in the massive landslides, some taken in the Sembalun district in the foothills of Mount Rinjani.
Meanwhile, the road at the Kayangan Port of North Lombok has cracked due to the 7.0 earthquake, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, who said there have been communication breaks with officers in East Lombok.
Kondisi jalan retak-retak di Pelabuhan Kayangan Lombok Utara akibat gempa 7 SR pada 19/8/2018. Kerasnya guncangan gempa menyebabkan kerusakan bangunan, longsor di perbukitan dan listrik padam. Komunikasi masih belum dapat dilakukan dengan petugas di Lombok Timur. pic.twitter.com/vO5OZyjjhG
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) August 19, 2018
On the next island over, Bali’s Mount Abang area in Kintamani regency additionally experienced landslides as well from the quake, but no casualties have been reported.
Some of the landslide action in Bali was caught on camera:
“At 12pm due to the earthquake this afternoon, the eastern cliff of .. village experienced a landslide,” Bangli Police spokesman Chief Sulhadi told Detik on Sunday.
The landslide disrupted access to the main roads in Buahan and Trunyan villages, but there were not victims, Sulhadi said.
The spokesman is appealing to the public to remain vigilant since the area is prone to landslides.
“The cliff is unstable and there are often landslides. If there are strong winds or earthquakes or heavy ran, there will be a landslide accompanied by falling heavy debris,” he said
