2018 Lombok earthquake

Map of 2018 Lombok earthquakes

2018 Lombok earthquake may refer to the following five thrust type earthquakes. They occurred in July and August, with epicentres north of Rinjani volcano, that caused significant damage and deaths:[1]

On August 5, 2018, Lombok Island, off the eastern part of Bali Island, Indonesia experienced a 6.9 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter of the earthquake was 18 km Northwest of East Lombok. The earthquake could have caused a tsunami, and a tsunami alert was sounded but later the warming was removed as the risk was reduced.[2] The Indonesian government made efforts to broadcast information about the impact of the earthquake. However, thorough geospatial data about how the earthquake affects larger areas was limited and mostly inaccessible for the public. Available information was that according to the Head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency of West Nusa Tenggara Province, the loss due to the earthquake reached 1 trillion IDR. Then, according to the National Disaster Management Agency , the number of victims of the earthquake was >100 people, with 238 people injured, thousands of homes damaged, and tens of thousands becoming refugees.[3]

A tsunami struck Java and Sumatra starting at 9:30 p.m. and resulted in more than 300 deaths. The tsunami was likely caused by undersea landslides due to the ongoing eruption of Anak Krakatau volcano located in the Sunda Strait. Anak Krakatau’s most recent series of eruptions started in June 2018.

Earthquakes in Indonesia

Indonesia is an archipelago that includes thousands of volcanic islands, which were created over time as plates shift and molten rock, or magma, exerts pressure. The Southeast Asian country is located on the Pacific ring of fire, where slabs of the earth’s crust — tectonic plates — clash, creating earthquakes when the plates shove against one another. About 90% of earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.[4]

Among the most deadly earthquakes in history was the magnitude 9.1 quake that struck off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on 26 December 2004, triggering a massive tsunami. This disaster killed nearly 230,000 people across several countries.

References

  1. "2018 Indonesia quakes and tsunamis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help". World Vision. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  2. "Alert: Earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia (6th August 2018) - Indonesia". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  3. Ramdani, Fatwa; Setiani, Putri; Setiawati, Diah Ajeng (2019-12-01). "Analysis of sequence earthquake of Lombok Island, Indonesia". Progress in Disaster Science. 4: 100046. doi:10.1016/j.pdisas.2019.100046. ISSN 2590-0617. S2CID 210610635.
  4. CNN, By Nicole Chavez (2018-09-29). "Why Indonesia has so many earthquakes". CNN. Retrieved 2021-06-15. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)