Lombok Quake Death Toll Reaches Almost 400

The death toll from Sunday’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has reached 387, Kyodo reported, citing a government official Saturday.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo (BNPB) Purwo Nugroho said the figure included two people who were killed on neighboring Bali Island.

A total of 334 fatalities occurred in the island’s North Lombok Regency, where the quake’s epicenter was located.

Sutopo said the death toll is expected to rise further due to people being buried by landslides.

According to Sutopo, 13,688 people were injured and 387,067 people have been displaced.

“Some people actually don’t need to evacuate because their houses were strong enough to withstand the quake but they have been traumatized by the quakes,” the senior government official said, referring to the quake and continuing aftershocks.

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Almost 70,000 houses and buildings, including schools, hospitals, public health centers and mosques, were also damaged or destroyed by the quake, as well as six bridges, blocking access to affected areas, Sutopo said.

The Jakarta-based Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said more than 521 aftershocks have hit the island since Sunday’s major quake, with 21 of them having magnitudes between 5 and 6.2. (T/ RS5 / RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)