At least 91 killed after quake jolts Indonesian tourist island

A magnitude-7.0 earthquake has hit the Indonesian resort island of Lombok, killing 91 people.
The earthquake struck at 6:46 pm local time on Sunday and damaged buildings 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in Denpasar, Bali.
A spokesperson for BNPB, Indonesia’s disaster relief body, confirmed on Monday that the death toll had risen to 91 people and said that 209 people were severely injured.
As search and rescue teams continue to sweep the area, officials have said that this figure could continue to rise.
According to the Guardian, all of those confirmed dead in the earthquake are Indonesian. Widespread damage to residential and other buildings has been reported.
The epicenter was on land 18 kilometers (11 miles) northwest of East Lombok, near where the previous quake struck a week ago and killed 16 people.
Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency issued a tsunami warning following the quake, but later lifted the warning at 8.30pm local time.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesperson for Indonesia’s disaster agency, says the main focus now is the search and rescue operation and getting basic needs met for those affected.
“Current urgent needs are medical personnel, clean water, food, blankets, mats, tents, fast food, trauma healing services and basic need,” he said.
The Indonesian air force sent three planes on Monday morning to Bali and Lombok, with troops, medical personnel, drugs and food onboard.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo wrote on Twitter urging the community to remain calm and said “the brothers are not alone facing this ordeal”.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who is in Lombok for a counter-terrorism meeting, told Fairfax Media the quake “was powerful enough to put us on the floor”.
“We were up on the 12th floor, the lights went out and we were able to evacuate,” Dutton said. “I think we were pretty lucky in the end.”
A number of tourists have since made an effort to evacuate Lombok by sea and air.
Airport authorities in Lombok have requested additional flights to accommodate the influx.
Lombok, which is located east of Bali and makes up part of the Lesser Sunda Island chain, is a popular tourist destination known for mountains, beaches and surf.
The island nation is also situated in the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. Because of this, Indonesia is prone to earthquakes and has some of the most active volcanoes in the area.