Jakarta, Aug 19 : An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale jolted Indonesia's Lombok island on Sunday, weeks after three previous tremors in the same region killed 467 people.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) located the hypocentre at a depth of 10 km and 58 km northeast of Mataram, the island's capital, reports Efe news.

Officials said they were looking still assessing the situation following the latest quake on Sunday.

"The earthquake caused people to panic and flee their homes," the national disaster agency the BBC quoted National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho as saying.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake had struck the region on August 5 and was followed by over 500 aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.9 on August 9.

According to latest official figures, over 417,000 people have been displaced, 72,000 houses, 671 schools, 52 hospitals and 128 places of worship have been damaged.

On July 29, another 6.4-magnitude quake left 16 dead, 355 injured and 1,500 buildings damaged.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activities, where some 7,000 earthquakes, mostly moderate, are recorded each year.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.