Scene of earthquake (file photo)

A magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit Indonesia’s Lombok Island on Thursday,
days after a temblor devastated the region killing at least 168 people.

The quake struck at 12.25 (0725 GMT) with its epicentre six km north-west of North Lombok district, at a depth of 12km, the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency said.

The agency said there was no tsunami threat.

The geophysical agency has recorded 355 aftershocks since Sunday’s deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake.

The death toll from Sunday’s powerful quake stood at 168 on Thursday, but national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho warned that it would increase “significantly.”

“We’re coordinating with the local military command so that the figures match,” he said.

He earlier acknowledged that local authorities had given much higher casualty figures, and the military on Lombok put the death toll at 381.

“Data on victims must include names, ages, genders and addresses for verification,” he said.

“BNPB data are official,” he said, using the Indonesian abbreviation for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Nearly 1,500 people have been hospitalized with serious injuries and more than 156,000 displaced, the disaster agency said.

Some survivors said that they had not received aid four days after the disaster.

“About 90 per cent of houses in this village collapsed,” Ahmad Zulkaryadi, a resident in the Kayangan village of North Lombok.

“Food aid has not reached us, because roads are very bad and bridges collapsed. It takes three hours to travel just one km by car,” he said.

“We just make do with vegetables from the nearby farm.”

The local government has distributed 100 tones of rice and 200 trucks have been deployed to deliver food, blankets, water and clothing to affected areas, the disaster agency said.

Agency spokesman Nugroho said the death toll was likely to increase as figures from local authorities were verified and rescue workers reached more areas.

Sunday’s quake struck exactly a week after a slightly weaker tremor caused 20 deaths on Lombok, a popular resort island.

Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area known for frequent volcanic
eruptions and earthquakes.

(dpa/NAN)