Indonesia earthquake death toll reaches 105
Tanjung (Indonesia), Aug 7: The death toll in the 6.9 magnitude Indonesia earthquake climbed to 105 on Tuesday while rescue teams continued to search for survivors under the rubble.
The earthquake shook Lombok Island over the weekend. Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that among the dead, 78 were from the northern Lombok regency, 15 from western Lombok, four from Mataram, three from eastern Lombok, two from central Lombok and two from Bali's capital Denpasar.
About 236 people were reported to be injured and 20,000 people displaced by the disaster. Thousands of houses were damaged, CNN reported.
All the 105 people killed were Indonesians, while the injured included seven foreigners -- one each from Denmark, the US, the UK, France, Belgium, Czech Republic and South Korea, according to Efe news.
Sutopo said that the death toll was expected to rise as the search operations continued, mainly in the most affected regions of northern and eastern Lombok.
Thousands of tourists were being gradually evacuated from Lombok on boats or delayed flights taking off from Mataram's international airport where many foreigners spent the night in the terminal and in corridors.
Some 7,000 tourists were evacuated from the popular Gili archipelago -- which includes the islands Air, Meno and Trawangan -- off the coast of northeast Lombok, near the epicentre of the earthquake, which was followed by 250 aftershocks.
Faik Fahmi, director of Angkasa Pura, the company that operates the airport on Lombok, said there were about 1,000 people staying overnight at the airport and that they were going to increase traffic so travellers can reach their destinations, including Bali and Jakarta.
On Monday, many flights to and from the island were cancelled and others delayed. Lombok, dominated by the Rinjani volcano, is located east of Bali, Indonesia's main tourist destination.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity that experiences about 7,000 tremors a year, mostly moderate.
The devastation came exactly a week after the region was hit by a 6.4 magnitude quake that left at least 15 people dead and 162 injured.
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Karnataka: Home Department asks motorists to drive on highways with caution to avoid robbery
Belagavi: The Home Department has advised motorists to stay alert while travelling on national and state highways, warning that gangs involved in robbery and extortion have been active in several stretches. It said people should be extra cautious if anyone tries to stop their vehicle in isolated areas.
Replying to an unstarred question on Thursday, the department said Karnataka has recorded 403 highway robbery cases in the past three years. According to the data, national highways saw 81 extortion and 23 robbery cases in 2023, followed by 66 extortion and 16 robbery cases in 2024. Until November 15 this year, 51 extortion and 14 robbery cases have been reported.
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On state highways, 39 extortion and 17 robberies were reported in 2023, while 2024 saw 35 extortion and 22 robbery cases. In 2025 so far, 20 extortion and 19 robbery cases have taken place. The department noted that curbing highway robberies remains a major challenge for the police.
To tackle the issue, police stations have been directed to set up regular checkpoints on stretches of highways passing through their limits. Suspicious individuals and vehicles are being checked. Two-wheelers have been allocated to every station for night patrol, and staff have been instructed to conduct night rounds using vehicles fitted with sirens and red lights.
