JAKARTA: A magnitude 6.4 earthquake on Sunday struck the popular tourist destination of Lombok in Indonesia, damaging many buildings, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said.
The quake, which was quickly followed by an aftershock of magnitude 5.4 in the same area, was centred in the northern part of the island, 49.5km northeast of the city of Mataram, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Many buildings were damaged, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said, but there are no reports of casualties yet.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the agency spokesman, posted on Twitter pictures of houses with collapsed roofs and walls.
The quake may have also impacted Mount Rinjani national park, a popular trekking destination.
"Rinjani mountain climbing is closed temporarily because there are indications of landslides around the mountain," Nugroho, said in a statement.
Local news Metro TV reported that people were still sleeping when the first quake hit and they quickly fled their houses in panic. Most of the people are still waiting outside their houses in fear of aftershocks.
The earthquake struck at 6.47a.m. on Sunday and was only 7km deep, a shallow depth that would have amplified its effect. The second struck less than an hour later.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake is considered strong and is capable of causing severe damage.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the European quake agency, put the magnitude at 6.5.
The earthquake was on land and did not trigger any waves or tsunami.
Lombok is located east of the island of Bali.
Quakes are common in Indonesia, which is located on the seismically active "Ring of Fire" that surrounds the shores of the Pacific Ocean. --Reuters
