KUALA LUMPUR: Barely a week after being struck by an earthquake, the Indonesian island of Lombok was once again rocked today, this time by a 7.0-magnitude tremblor.
The United States Geological Survey said the quake, which struck at 7.46pm (local time), occurred at a depth of 10-kilometres, with the epicentre located around five kilometres off Desaanyar.
The Indonesian Meteorological Agency, meanwhile,said a tsunami warning of a potential tidal wave has been issued for the quake. The tsunami warning issued covers North Lombok, East and North Bali, the north side of East Java, Southeast Madura, South Kalimantan, and South Sulawesi.
The quake is more powerful than the one which hit Lombok on July 29. That quake, measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, claimed 16 lives.
Harian Metro reporter Salman Hamat, who is in the Lombok International Airport, reported that the airport’s main terminal building shook as a result of the powerful quake.
The minute-long shaking triggered panic among hundreds of people in the terminal. Matters were made worse when the electricity was temporarily cut off, leaving the terminal in darkness for almost a minute before backup power kicked in.
Several people in the airport, including airport staff who were already traumatised by last week’s event, screamed in fear .
Airport staff however swiftly moved into action and instructed people to vacate the terminal and to gather at the runway for safety.
The situation went back to normal about 15 minutes later.
No casualties have been reported at press time.
Meanwhile, Harian Metro reporter Shuhada Mansor, who is currently on Karimunjawa Island, said the Lombok quake also caused panic among the islanders when the emergency siren was sounded.
She said although the quake was not felt on the island, the locals feared that the Lombok quake would trigger a tsunami.
Reporting by Salman Hamat, Mohd Azam Shah Yaacob and Shuhada Mansor