REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NORTH LOMBOK -- The West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Disaster Mitigation Board (BPBD) has predicted the powerful magnitude-7 earthquake which rocked the province on Sunday night may inflict about Rp1 trillion in material losses. However, it has not been calculated in detail yet.

"Judging by the impact of the quake, the losses may run into Rp1 trillion," Chief of the BPBD Muhammad Rum said on Monday.

But, he added the most important thing now is to rescue the affected residents. "Last night the region plunged into darkness which caused difficulties to the evacuating team. We don't know whether or not there are still victims beneath the debris (of damaged buildings)," he said.

The ruins of a building hit cars parked in Tanjung, North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Monday (Aug 6).

The evacuating team needed heavy-duty equipment to get rid of the debris to find another dead victims. "The 14-day disaster emergency response period has come into effect since the Sunday (July 29) earthquake," he said.

The disaster emergency response period will likely be extended in view of the huge impact of the August 5 quake, Rum said.

Some 105 people were confirmed dead, while 236 others were severely injured after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake hit the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Bali at about 6:46 p.m. local time on Sunday. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) noted that some 184 aftershocks had occurred on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, following the magnitude-7 earthquake.

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