Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The moment an aftershock hit Lombok

The death toll from a magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok on Sunday has risen to 259 and may go higher still, officials say.

The region has been hit by more than 350 aftershocks, the worst of which struck on Thursday.

The latest tremor had a magnitude of 5.9 or 6.2, according to monitors. It brought down some buildings.

Rescue workers are still digging through rubble and trying to get aid to survivors of the earlier, larger quake.

Officials said of the latest death toll: "This number will continue increasing as rescue teams continue to find victims under collapsed buildings."

Indonesia's chief security minister had earlier said 319 people had died, while local media have reported figures as high as 347.

But national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told the BBC that only 259 deaths had been verified.

The Red Cross says that Sunday's incident was "exceptionally destructive".

Some villages had "completely collapsed", said a Red Cross official in Lombok, Christopher Rassi.

The government says more than 1,400 people were injured and more than 270,000 displaced.

The new tremor on Thursday hit off the north-west coast of Lombok, sending people running into the streets in panic. No tsunami warning was issued.

'I ran as fast as I could'

By Mehulika Sitepu, BBC News, Mataram

More than 350 aftershocks have struck since the quake on Sunday. Usually it feels like the ground is gently swaying. But Thursday's aftershock was different.

In my third-floor hotel room in Mataram, the island's capital, windows smashed, walls cracked and the ceiling started to collapse.

I ran as fast as I could, barefoot, taking nothing with me. The stairs shook as I ran from the building into the street outside, where people were crying. Their fear was clearly visible.

Sturdy buildings such as my hotel, in the north of Lombok and 13km (8 miles) from the epicentre, can withstand such shocks. But the rickety houses where many islanders live cannot. This is why so many people here are now homeless.

Mr Sutopo classified it as an aftershock. A British tourist on nearby Bali told the BBC that it had been felt there, causing people to leave their hotel rooms in the southern resort area of Seminyak.

Emergency workers are gradually starting to reach more remote areas of Lombok as they continue their rescue missions.

But Mr Sutopo said some areas in the north had still not received any aid.

Lombok is a roughly 4,500 sq km (1,700 sq miles) island east of the slightly larger island of Bali.

Most people live in basic housing in small communities. Tens of thousands are now sleeping out in the open or in the ruins of their homes.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption This woman was rescued alive after nearly a week trapped under rubble in Tanjung, North Lombok

"We are still waiting for assessments from some of the more remote areas in the north of the island, but it is already clear that Sunday's earthquake was exceptionally destructive," said Mr Rassi.

"I visited villages yesterday that were completely collapsed," he added, while other teams in East and North Lombok had reported villages where 75% of homes were damaged.

With hospitals and clinics also affected, many of the injured have had to be treated in the open air or in makeshift clinics.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Imam stays as quake hits Bali mosque

Sunday's quake came only days after a slightly smaller one, which killed at least 16 people. There are growing concerns that the important tourism industry will be badly hit at what should be a busy time.

Thousands of tourists visiting Lombok - as well as the nearby Gili Islands and Bali - have been evacuated or have chosen to leave since the weekend.

"We've had light earthquakes in the past, but never anything like this," hotel chain owner Marcel De Rijk told Reuters news agency.

"We've lost a lot of bookings and future guests are in wait-and-see mode. I don't think people will choose Lombok anymore this summer."

The quake struck at 19:46 local time (11:46 GMT) on Sunday at a fairly shallow depth of 31km (19 miles).

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because it lies on the Ring of Fire - the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.

More than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level are part of the ring.</s>JAKARTA: The death toll in the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Indonesia's Lombok island on Sunday swelled to 347, according to the state-run Antara news agency.

Indonesia's national disaster agency had last put the death toll figure at 131. As aid has begun to reach the northern parts of the island, which were among the worst hit by the natural calamity, many people are complaining that assistance has not arrived in their areas.

Also Read | Indonesia: 5.9-magnitude aftershock jolts Lombok after deadly earthquake which killed over 160

CNN quoted Antara news agency saying that over 120 people lost their lives in Kayangan in northern Lombok. The Indonesian government estimated that around 20,000 people still require help in the affected area and revealed that 80 per cent of the buildings has been destroyed.

According to several media reports, hundreds of thousands have been displaced due to the August 5 earthquake, while over 1,000 people sustained injuries and are undergoing medical treatment.

Initially, the Red Cross said that due to the ongoing risk of landslides and debris from the quake, the aid was struggling to reach the northern parts of Lombok island. The international humanitarian organisation stated that it would take some days to know the full impact of the Sunday's earthquake.

"We are still waiting for assessments from some of the more remote areas in the north of the island, but it is already clear that Sunday's earthquake was exceptionally destructive," Christopher Rassi, the head of the assessment team for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement.

Also Read | Indonesia Earthquake: Soldiers pull a man out of mosque rubble

The Red Cross further said that they have evacuated all 2,000 tourists stranded on the Gili Islands, situated near the coast of northwest Lombok Island. The earthquake also affected the nearby tourist island of Bali and widespread damage was also reported as well.

The quake, which was 31 kilometers (19 miles) deep and near Loloan on the north end of Lombok, also triggered a brief tsunami warning. Tremors were also felt in Bali.

The natural disaster, which was the second powerful temblor on Lombok in a week, hit the island in the evening of August 5. All the landline and cell phone services have been reported down in Lombok's Tanjung town, which was the nearest to the epicentre.

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake previously shook the island on July 29, which claimed 17 lives.

Indonesia has been rattled by earthquakes in the past. The country is located in the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean, which is vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.</s>The death toll from the Lombok earthquake has risen dramatically to 347, the government-run news agency Antara has said.

Another Indonesian government agency has put the figure at 381, a significant increase from figure of 131 reported on Wednesday. The number of the dead may still climb higher, as rescuers work to free people trapped in the rubble.

The deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesian island on Sunday night, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

Officials and organisations including the military, the governor of the province that includes Lombok, the national search and rescue agency and the regent of North Lombok have issued different death tolls, ranging from 226 to 381.

The national disaster agency announced today that they believed the death toll to be 164 with at least 1,400 people seriously injured and 156,000 displaced.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for the national disaster agency, has repeatedly said the number of deaths will increase. Search and rescue teams have been working to access those in the worst-affected areas, close to the epicentre in northern Lombok.

Facebook apologised on Wednesday after users posting about a the earthquake saw their messages decorated with images of balloons and confetti. Many Indonesian speakers wrote messages on Facebook using the word “selamat” – which can mean “safe” but also “congratulations” – triggering celebratory animations.

“The feature [automatic animations for “congratulations”] is widely available on Facebook globally,” said a Facebook spokeswoman. “However we regret that it appeared in this unfortunate context and have since turned off the feature locally.”

Search and rescue teams have been working to access those in the worst-affected areas, close to the epicentre in northern Lombok.

Sunday’s earthquake triggered at least 230 aftershocks, which were expected to continue for the next two weeks.



The US Geological survey reported a 5.2-magnitude earthquake just off the coast of Lombok between the tourist town of Senggigi and the Gili Islands on Monday at 11.50pm. It also reported a 5.4-magnitude quake at 2.21am on Tuesday, close to the site of Sunday’s 6.9-magnitude quake.

Lombok had already been hit by a 6.4 quake on 29 July that killed 17 people and briefly stranded several hundred trekkers on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Rinjani.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian official says death toll from Lombok earthquake has risen to 319.</s>MATARAM, Indonesia — Aid began reaching isolated areas of the Indonesian island struggling after a powerful earthquake that killed more than 130 people as rescuers intensified efforts Wednesday to find those buried in the rubble.

The national disaster agency stood by its latest death toll of 131 from Sunday's quake despite other government agencies including the military reporting much higher figures.

The governor of the province that includes Lombok where the quake was centered, the military, the national search and rescue agency and regent of North Lombok issued different death tolls that ranged from 226 to 381.

But disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement the information from those sources was incomplete and hadn't been cross-checked for duplication. He has said several times that the number of deaths will increase. An interagency meeting will be held Thursday to compare information, Nugroho said.

As the aid effort stepped up, volunteers and rescue personnel erected more temporary shelters for the tens of thousands left homeless on Lombok by the magnitude 7.0 quake.

Water, which has been in short supply due to a prolonged dry spell on the island, as well as food and medical supplies were being distributed from trucks. The military said it sent five planes carrying food, medicine, blankets, field tents and water tankers.

A man is wheeled passed a damaged wall to a makeshift ward set up outside the Moh. Ruslan hospital in Mataram on the Indonesian island of Lombok on August 6, 2018, the morning after a 6.9 magnitude stuck the area.

Still, government assistance was barely a trickle in the west Lombok village of Kekait where Zulas Triani, an elementary school teacher who was sharing a tent with 30 others, said they had received only a basket with three noodle packets, five eggs and a small ration of water.

"My house was flattened. We are all frustrated to live like this — in a tent without certainty. Where should we go if we have no house anymore, nowhere to live?" said the mother of 15- and 9-year-old girls.

"I don't know how to rebuild on my own. We're all relying on the government to help. I do hope the government can help," she said.

Nearly 1,500 people have been hospitalized with serious injuries and more than 156,000 have been displaced due to the extensive damage to thousands of homes. Thousands of people have been sleeping in makeshift shelters or out in the open.

At a collapsed mosque in Bangsal district, emergency workers in orange uniforms removed a woman's body from the ruins on Wednesday morning. A green and yellow dome rested on the pile of rubble, the only part of the structure still intact.

Authorities said all the tourists who wanted to be evacuated from three outlying vacation islands due to power blackouts and damage to hotels had left by boat, some 5,000 people in all.

A collapsed mosque is seen as the sun set at Kayangan subdistrict in North Lombok on West Nusa Tenggara province on August 8, 2018, three days after an earthquake hit the area.

The quake was the second in a week to hit Lombok. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake on July 29 killed 16 people and cracked and weakened many structures, amplifying the damage that occurred in Sunday's quake.

Like its famous neighbor Bali, Lombok is known for beaches, mountains and a lush interior. Hotels and other buildings in both locations are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Todd Pitman in Kekait, Indonesia, and Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The death toll from a devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen to 347, according to Indonesian news agency Antara. A National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson says more than 1,000 people have also been injured and 165,000 displaced by the 7.0 magnitude quake. Antara reports the majority of those killed died in Kayangan, on the north side of the island.

RESCUE efforts have intensified to find people buried in rubble following the earthquake that shook Indonesia’s Lombok island on Sunday, as the death toll has reportedly risen to 347.

Most of the people died in Kayangan, on the north side of the island, according to the state-run Antara news agency.

The national disaster agency has stood by its latest death toll of 131 from the quake despite other government agencies including the military reporting much higher figures.

The governor of the province that includes Lombok, the military and the national search and rescue agency issued different death tolls that ranged from 226 to 381.

Another 1,447 people have been injured and 165,003 displaced.

MORE: Australian tourists share their stories of terror from quake

As the aid effort stepped up, volunteers and rescue personnel erected more temporary shelters for the tens of thousands left homeless on Lombok by the magnitude 7.0 quake.

Water, which has been in short supply due to a prolonged dry spell on the island, as well as food and medical supplies were being distributed from trucks. The military said it sent five planes carrying food, medicine, blankets, field tents and water tankers.

Nearly 1500 people are in hospital with serious injuries and more than 156,000 have been displaced due to the extensive damage to thousands of homes. Thousands of people have been sleeping in makeshift shelters or out in the open.

At a collapsed mosque in Bangsal district, emergency workers in orange uniforms removed a woman’s body from the ruins on Wednesday morning. A green and yellow dome rested on the pile of rubble, the only part of the structure still intact.

Authorities said all the tourists who wanted to be evacuated from three outlying holiday islands due to power blackouts and damage to hotels had left by boat, some 5000 people in all.

The quake was the second in a week to hit Lombok. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake on July 29 killed 16 people and cracked and weakened many structures, amplifying the damage that occurred in Sunday’s quake.

Like its famous neighbour Bali, Lombok is known for beaches, mountains and a lush interior.

Hotels and other buildings in both locations are not allowed to exceed the height of coconut trees.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the “Ring of Fire”, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.</s>An earthquake in Indonesia has resulted in the death of more than a hundred people. At least two hundred people have been severely injured after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake hit Indonesia. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, displacing thousands of people.

A wave of chaos and fear surrounded the affected islands’ beaches as the authorities try to evacuate both foreign and domestic tourists. Families of those killed in the earthquake will receive $1036 in compensation from the government. Those injured will receive as much as $172. As soon as the news broke out, several organisations came forward to send aid to the hard-hit areas. The rescue operations are in full swing and the authorities are leaving no stone unturned to provide medical access to those in need.</s>A second major earthquake just hit the tourist island of Lombok in Indonesia, just days after a massive magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck Lombok island on Sunday evening .

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia on Thursday afternoon at around 1 pm local time.</s>The death toll in the devastating earthquake that hit the Indonesia island of Lombok rose to at least 319, an official said Thursday, as a powerful aftershock retraumatized the victims and caused even more damage.

The magnitude 5.9 aftershock - centered in the northwest of the island - caused panic, landslides and further damaged buildings and caused more injuries. Indonesia’s geological agency said it would not cause a tsunami.

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the aftershock had caused more “trauma.”

More: Death toll rises to more than 130 in earthquake that rocked Indonesian island of Lombok

More: Indonesia earthquake kills several dozen as death toll rises

Videos showed rubble strewn across streets and clouds of dust enveloping buildings. Some people leaped from their vehicles amid stalled traffic in northern Lombok.

Sunday’s magnitude 7.0 quake left more than 156,000 people homeless, with many sleeping in makeshift shelters and out in the open. That temblor came a week after another earthquake killed at least 16 people.

Wiranto, the top security minister who like many Indonesians goes by only one name, told reporters Thursday that the death toll from Sunday’s quake had risen to 319. The announcement came after an inter-agency meeting was called to resolve differing figures from different agencies.

Grieving relatives were burying the dead and medics tended to the injured, many of whom had broken limbs.

The Red Cross said it was focusing relief efforts on an estimated 20,000 people who are yet to receive any assistance.</s>Aid has started to arrive in isolated areas of the Indonesian island of Lombok, following an earthquake that killed at least 131 people, as rescuers continued to find bodies in the rubble.

Volunteers and rescue workers were putting up more temporary shelters on Wednesday for the tens of thousands of people left homeless by the magnitude-6.9 quake on Sunday evening. Water, food and medical supplies were being distributed from lorries.

The military said five planes carrying food, medicine, blankets, field tents and water tankers left the capital, Jakarta, for the island early on Wednesday.

A woman’s body was recovered from the rubble of a collapsed mosque in Bangsal district, in the north of the island.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster agency, said the death toll had risen from 105 on Tuesday.

He told a news conference that reports of other deaths still needed to be verified. The number is expected to increase, he said.

Nearly 2,500 people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries and more than 156,000 people are displaced due to the extensive damage to thousands of homes.

Authorities said about 5,000 tourists who wanted to be evacuated from three outlying holiday islands had left by boat.
The death toll from the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia, rises to 259, and may go higher still.