91 killed in massive Indonesia quake
Jakarta, Aug 6 : At least 91 people were killed and hundreds others injured in a massive quake measuring 7 on the Richter scale that struck Indonesia's Lombok Island, authorities said on Monday.
The shallow quake on Sunday evening that occured only 10 km underground, comes a week after another temblor hit Lombok, popular with tourists who visit its beaches and hiking trails, killing 16 people.
It was followed by about 130 aftershocks, some over magnitude 5. A tsunami warning was issued but was lifted after a few hours. The earthquake was also felt in neighbouring Bali as well as some parts of East Java.
The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) on Monday morning sent a search and rescue team to the affected area, reports Efe news.
Most fatalities were caused by the collapse of buildings, according to the BNPB, which added that hundreds of the injured have to be treated outside hospitals because of the poor condition of the buildings.
"The main focus at this time is the search, rescue and assistance to people affected by the earthquake and meeting their basic needs," the BNPB said, pointing out the urgent needs for medical personnel, clean water, food, blankets and medicine.
BNPB spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 1,000 domestic and foreign tourists were evacuated. President Joko Widodo said the government will compensate victims whose houses were ruined by the quake, reports The Jakarta Post.
"As (the President) and on behalf of Indonesian citizens, I express deep sorrow for the lives that were lost during the earthquake," Joko said.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because it lies on the Ring of Fire - the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim, the BBC reported.
More than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level are part of the ring.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
