REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A number of big earthquakes have rocked the tourist island of Lombok of West Nusa Tenggara in less than a month. On Sunday (Aug 19) night a quake with a magnitude of 6.9 in the Richer Scale jolted East Lombok with tremors recorded in neighboring islands including Bali, Sumbawa, and Sulawesi.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Office (BMKG) said the 6.9 earthquake with epicenter in the sea 45 kilometers Northeast of the coast of the district at a depth of 10 kilometers was a new main shock. It was not an aftershock of the first and biggest one on July 29.

BMKG stated in its Twitter account that 22 aftershocks occured since Sunday evening to Monday (Aug 20) morning. It came with magnitudes ranging from 5.0 to 5.8 on the Richter Scale. Of the 22 incidents, three aftershocks were felt by residents.

Head of BMKG Dwikorita Karnawati explained areas in the north, northeast, and southeast of Lombok were severely affected by Sunday night's quake. People in northwest and west Sumbawa also shared the same experience.

"The strongest shocks occured in those areas, so immediate assistance should be given there," she said in a press conference at her office on early Monday (Aug 20).

A school in Gunungsari, West Lombok damaged by a number of earthquakes that hit West Nusa Tenggara Province in less than a month.

The agency said it could not yet give details about the damage and casualties caused by the new quake to add to hundreds of people dead left by the quake on July 29. The new quake, though strong in magnitude, was not expected to leave big casualties as the people already on guard with the trauma after the previous quakes. Most people still stay in evacuation camps in open areas.

The July 29 quake was the first and most devastating with North Lombok the hardest hit. According to report quoting Director General of Protection and Social Security Harry Hikmat the quake on July 29 and its aftershocks had a death toll of 548 with more injured victims and property destroyed.

Many tourists including foreign tourists were in Lombok when the first quake hit Lombok, but no foreign tourists reported killed. A week after the first quake, Lombok was jolted again by one with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter Scale when workers were still busy looking for dead bodies below the rubble of building that collapsed hit by the big aftershock.

The aftershock hit with epicenter in the sea 6 kilometer northwest of North Lombok at a dept of 12 kilometers, the Meteorology office (BMKG) said. The BMKG said the jolts that followed the July 29 quake were only aftershocks. There were a series of major aftershocks a smaller magnitude of around 5 on the Richter Scale.

However, the quake on Sunday (Aug 19), preceded by one with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter Scale, was a new quake, not an aftershock of the previous quakes, the agency said. BMKG said it could not yet give details of the damage caused by the new quake as with disrupted communications system, but in neighboring island of Sumbawa a man was reported dead hit by falling building.

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