Mataram, Indonesia: After a powerful earthquake on Lombok killing at least 82 people, Indonesian security forces and emergency workers rushed on Monday to aid victims amid strong aftershocks sparked terror on the island famous for holidaying. The earthquake comes just a week after last deadly earthquake.

Workers searched for people who might have survived in the rubble of houses, mosques and schools that were only few buildings among the thousands structures destroyed due to the disaster on Sunday evening.

“The search and rescue team is still scouring the scene and evacuating (people),” national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

“We estimate the number of victims will rise.”

Soon after the quake occurred, a tsunami warning was issued but later cancelled and the effects of the quake were felt on the neighbouring island of Bali, which is one of the Southeast Asia’s leading destinations. Tourists were seen running for life as the tremor struck.

The 6.9 magnitude quake forced thousands of Lombok residents and tourists run for their life outdoors and they had to spent the night outside as strong aftershocks including one of 5.3 magnitude continued to rattle the island.

The quake disturbed the power system in many areas and many parts of Lombok did not had electricity on Monday.

Victims in blood and bandaged numbering in hundreds were treated outside damaged hospitals in the main city of Mataram and other hard-hit parts of the island.

Makeshift wards were set up to treat patients in tents surrounded by drip stands and monitros while the doctors attended them.

“Many injured people are being treated outside of hospitals and health clinics because the buildings were damaged,” Nugroho said.

Most of the quake victims were away from the main tourist spots and coastal districts in the south and west, and were in the mountainous north and east of the island.

As per the statement given by Najmaul Akhyar, the head of North Lombok district, an estimated 80 percent of that region was damaged by the earthquake.

“We need heavy equipment because some mosques have collapsed and we suspect some worshippers are still trapped inside,” he told Metro TV.

It was the second such earthquake just after a week to hit Lombok, whose beaches and hiking trails draw holidaymakers from the world over.

Not less than 17 people were reported dead due to the 6.4 magnitude earthquake leaving damaged buildings in hundreds of numbers besides triggering landslides that trapped trekkers on popular mountain hiking routes.

Facilities of Lombok’s main airport were not unaffected in the latest earthquake but passengers were briefly evacuated from the main terminal.

Home Affairs Minister K.Shanmugam of Singapore described the earthquake on Facebook as it shook violently the bulding in which he was staying. He was in Lombok for a security conference when the earthquake hit.

“Walls cracked, it was quite impossible to stand up,” he said.

The international airport of Bali suffered damage to its terminal but the runway was still unaffected and other operations had returned to normal, as reported by disaster agency officials.

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