Tourists flee Indonesia's Lombok island after earthquake kills 98
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS AUGUST 5, 2018 / 11:19 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Tourists flee Indonesia's Lombok island after earthquake kills 98
Kanupriya Kapoor
6 MIN READ
PEMENANG, Indonesia (Reuters) - Rescuers used diggers and heavy machinery to clear debris and search for survivors on Monday after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed at least 98 people on Indonesias resort island of Lombok, prompting a tourist exodus.
The island was further rattled by a magnitude 5.2 earthquake on Monday evening. Valentin Valla, a French tourist in the town of Mataram said the quake woke up tourists who ran out of their hotel, but there was no apparent damage.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said it expected the death toll to rise once the rubble of more than 13,000 houses was cleared away after two powerful quakes in a week.
Power and communications were severed in some areas, with landslides and a collapsed bridge blocking access to areas around the epicenter in the north.
The military said it would send a ship with medical aid, supplies and logistics support.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-quake/tourists-flee-indonesias-lombok-island-after-earthquake-kills-98-idUSKBN1KR07F