Philippines condoles with quake-hit Indonesia
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has extended its condolences to the families of those who were killed after a magnitude 7 earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Lombok on Sunday.
At least 91 people were killed and more than 200 people were seriously injured, according to reports.
The Philippine Embassy in Jakarta said there have been no reports that any of the 250 members of the Filipino community in Lombok and nearby areas were among the dead and injured.
"We also ask our nationals in the area who may have been affected to contact the embassy if they require assistance," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.
A seven-member Philippine delegation attending a meeting were also in Lombok when the quake ocurred. Philippine Ambassador to Jakarta Leehiong Wee said the they are safe and will be evacuated from the island.
The powerful quake Sunday night came a week after a magnitude 6.4 quake hit the same area, leaving 17 persons dead, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
According to Wee, the tremor was also felt in Bali, triggering a tsunami alert which was later lifted.
Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency says the death toll from the earthquake on Lombok has risen to 91 and could rise further as rescuers still haven't reached some of the worst affected areas in the north of the island.
Spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said there is "massive" damage in north Lombok from the quake that struck early Sunday evening.
He said thousands of houses and other buildings have been damaged and most of the deaths counted so far were caused by collapsing houses.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has ordered cabinet ministers and military and police chiefs to accelerate the disaster relief effort. — Patricia Lourdes Viray with Associated Press
Australia's Home Affairs minister has tweeted that he and his delegation have been safely evacuated in darkness from a Lombok hotel where they have been staying during a regional security conference.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told Fairfax Media that he was on the hotel's 12th floor when the quake struck. He says the quake "was powerful enough to put us on the floor" and cut power.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Nine Network television he will call Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Monday "to offer all the Australian assistance that can be made available."
Earlier, model Chrissy Teigen shared her shock and worry in real-time during the powerful and deadly earthquake.
The model, along with singer-husband John Legend and their two children, felt the shaking while on vacation in neighboring Bali on Sunday. — AP
A powerful earthquake shakes Lombok island in Indonesia, the third in little more than a week.
The island is still reeling from an earlier quake that killed at least 200 people.
Aid has started reaching isolated areas of the Indonesian island struggling after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 131 people, while rescuers Wednesday doubled down on efforts to find the dead, pulling another body from the rubble.
Volunteers and rescue personnel were erecting more temporary shelters for the tens of thousands of people left homeless on Lombok by the magnitude 7.0 quake on Sunday evening. Water, food and medical supplies were being distributed from trucks.
The military said five planes carrying food, medicine, blankets, field tents and water tankers left Jakarta for the island early Wednesday. — AP
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