Dozens hurt in Bali, Lombok quake

Dozens hurt in Bali, Lombok quake

I Wayan Juniartha and Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post,
Denpasar/Mataram

A powerful earthquake rocked the two tourist islands of Bali and
Lombok on Friday, injuring dozens of people and damaging hundreds
of buildings, local officials and residents said.

An elderly man reportedly died of a heart attack, apparently
triggered by the shock of the strong tremor in Lombok.

At least 28 people, including South African tourist Dr. Carine
Lourence who was staying at Mangsit Hotel in Lombok, were injured
in the quake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Lourence suffered a head wound after being hit by a falling
picture frame in her hotel room.

The number of victims could increase as local authorities are
still collecting data on those affected.

The tremor, which struck shortly before dawn in Lombok Strait
-- some 30 kilometers off the east coast of Bali -- was felt in
the West Nusa Tenggara capital Mataram, the northern part of West
Lombok and Sumbawa island.

Most of those injured suffered broken legs and arms as well as
bruising as buildings collapsed around them.

In Bali, at least 11 people were injured and hundreds of
buildings were damaged when the powerful quake jolted the eastern
regency of Karangasem, some 80 kilometers northeast of the
provincial capital Denpasar.

"However, we have discharged nine of them. Their injuries were
mostly minor cuts and bruises," Karangasem Hospital head IGM
Tirtayana said.

The remaining two victims, whose ankle and wrist were broken,
were transferred to a hospital in neighboring Klungkung regency
for further treatment.

"Our emergency unit and surgical theater could not function
properly due to damage inflicted by the quake," Tirtayana said.

The damage also forced the hospital to discharge 28 other
patients prematurely, he added.

The earthquake also damaged houses and places of worship in
the villages of Culik, Seraya and Tenganan Dauh Tukad.

The quake, which was followed by a power blackout, panicked
many residents, with some breaking down the doors of their houses
to flee.

"I was trembling so bad that I could not find the right keys
for the doors, so I just stormed through it," one villager said.

Bali health authorities responded quickly to the disaster,
sending whatever assistance the victims needed by the morning.

By 11 a.m, Karangasem Hospital had at its disposal 10
ambulances, health workers and medical supplies, which were
considered more than enough to deal with the injured.

By Friday afternoon most things had returned to normal in
Karangasem. Local people gathered at food stalls and in open
spaces to discuss the quake.

The operational head of Bali's Meteorology and Geophysics
Agency, Budi Sunarso, said it was the most powerful earthquake to
hit the area since 1979.

Sunarso disclosed that the earthquake started precisely at
4:59.31 a.m. in the morning and lasted for about five minutes.

"The strongest tremor, however, lasted for no more than 30
seconds," he said.

The tremor could also be felt in Denpasar, although to a much
lesser extent and reportedly did not cause any damage.

Sunarso attributed the unusual strength of the quake to the
fact that its epicenter was only 33 kilometers beneath the
surface.

"It was a shallow epicenter, thus, most of the energy released
by the movement of the tectonic plate was able to quickly reach
the surface," he explained.

Sunarso stressed that the quake was caused by the shifting of
a local tectonic plate, which was beneath Karangasem and western
parts of Lombok, and was not by the movement of the Euro-Asia and
Indo-Australia tectonic plates.

"The latter two are located some 300 kilometers beneath the
surface of Bali. Although they have frequently caused
earthquakes, the tremors are mostly mild due to their distance
from the surface. Sometimes, you cannot even feel the tremor," he
said.

In 2003 alone, the two tectonic plates were responsible for at
least 1,173 minor quakes in Bali.

In December 1992, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter
scale killed about 2,200 people on Flores island, east of Bali.

A major earthquake measuring 6.8 killed about 30,000 people in
Iran a week ago, while one measuring 6.3 struck Mexico on
Thursday.