Lombok earthquake on August 5, 2018

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Lombok earthquake on August 5, 2018
Lombok earthquake on August 5, 2018 (Indonesia)
Bullseye1.svg
date 2018-08-05
Time 11:46:37 UTC
intensity VIII  on the MM scale
Magnitude 6.9  M W
depth 31 km
epicenter 8 ° 17 '13 "  S , 116 ° 27' 7"  E Coordinates: 8 ° 17 '13 "  S , 116 ° 27' 7"  E
country Nusa Tenggara Barat , Indonesia
Tsunami Yes
dead 480
Injured 7800


The Lombok earthquake on August 5, 2018 was a destructive, shallow earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.9 M w (7.0 M L on the Richter scale ). It hit the Indonesian island of Lombok on the evening of August 5, 2018 at 7:46 p.m. local time . The earthquake was the main quake related to the July 29, 2018 earthquake .

The epicenter of the quake was on land, not far from the town of Loloan in the administrative district of North Lombok. When the rift continued northwards and reached the sea, a small tsunami with a wave height of 13 centimeters was triggered. The tremors were reported as severe across the island and severe on the neighboring islands of Bali and Sumbawa . At least 480 people were killed by the effects of the earthquake. Around 7,800 people were injured and around 350,000–417,000 residents were left homeless.

Tourists on the beach on Gili Trawangan Island await their evacuation

Property damage was widespread in both Lombok and Bali. According to the authorities, at least 80% of the structures in North Lombok were damaged or destroyed. In total, around 70,000 houses, 470 schools and 65 mosques were damaged. The damage to property is estimated at more than 440 million euros.

Hundreds of aftershocks occurred in the days after the main earthquake, the strongest of which was initially on August 9th had a moment magnitude of 5.9; on August 19, two severe quakes occurred: one at noon with a magnitude of 6.3 and one another at 10:56 p.m. local time with a magnitude of 6.9, whose epicentres were in the sea, at a depth of 25 kilometers. At least 20 people were killed and two dozen others were injured on Lombok and the neighboring island of Sumbawa. The fact that there are no more fatalities was also due to the fact that many people were outdoors or in emergency shelters. The power went out on large parts of the island, and numerous buildings collapsed again. According to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho , spokesman for the Indonesian Civil Protection Agency , the nocturnal quake on August 19 was not an aftershock, but a new major one. In the following hours, at least five strong aftershocks were registered.

Tectonic overview

The earthquake of August 5, 2018 with a magnitude M w  6.9 occurred as a result of a shallow under- displacement at or near the Flores- Backarc- displacement. Preliminary investigations of the focal mechanism indicate that the earthquake occurred either from a shallow, south-sloping thrust or a steep, north-sloping thrust. At the latitude of this earthquake, the Sundaplatte and Australian Plate converge in a north-south direction at a rate of 70 mm / year. The location of this earthquake is consistent with a southward thrust in the area of ​​the Flores-Backarc shift.

At the point of the event, the Sundaplatte slides the Indonesian arch of the island to the south, at the Flores-Backarc-Verschub and further east along the Wetar-Backarc-Verschub. In the south, the Australian plate also pushes the Sunda Arc under it to the north, along the Sunda Trench . The Flores region marks the transition between traditional oceanic plate subduction in the west (Australian plate below the Sunda plate) and the collision of continental plates in the east. As a result of this, two opposing displacement systems can be seen in cross-sectional views, and the northward dipping floe of the Australian plate exists deep beneath the islands of Indonesia and Lake Flores . The hearth solution and the depth of this earthquake indicate that it is more related to the Flores Backarc displacement than to the lower lying Australian plate.

In the region around the earthquake of August 5, 2018, six other earthquakes with a magnitude of M 6.5 or greater have occurred over the past hundred years. Four of them probably occurred in a back arc shunt; an earthquake with magnitude M 6.5 in the area of ​​Bali west of Lombok in July 1976 and three events with magnitudes M 6.5, M 6.5 and M 6.6 in the Sumbawa region east of Lombok in November 2007 and in November 2009. The Sumbawa earthquake left several dead and hundreds of injuries, and hundreds of homes destroyed.

Relief efforts

Indonesia has not declared a national emergency and is currently not requesting international aid. The Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia, PMI) supports the rescue work with more than a hundred helpers.

Non-governmental aid organizations from Germany such as Caritas International are providing 50,000 euros for emergency aid. Humedica sent a medical team to the earthquake region.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c At least twelve dead in new earthquakes in Indonesia. In: Salzburger Nachrichten . August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c Number of dead after earthquake on Lombok rose to 460. In: Salzburger Nachrichten . August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  3. ↑ At least 142 dead after a strong earthquake in Indonesia. In: Der Tagesspiegel . August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b Earthquake on Lombok: 319 dead recovered, strong aftershock. In: Tyrolean daily newspaper . August 9, 2018, accessed March 19, 2020 .
  5. ↑ M 5.9 - 3km SE of Todo, Indonesia. United States Geological Survey , August 9, 2018, accessed August 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ M 6.9 - 2km south of Belanting, Indonesia. United States Geological Survey , August 19, 2018, accessed August 21, 2018 .
  7. ↑ The death toll on Lombok rises to 555. In: NZZ . August 24, 2018, accessed September 6, 2018 .
  8. ↑ resh Lombok quake a new mainshock, says govt. In: reliefweb.int . August 20, 2018, accessed August 21, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Deaths again in earthquake in Indonesia . In: www.t-online.de . ( t-online.de [accessed on August 21, 2018]).
  10. ↑ a b c M 6.9 - 3km SSE of Loloan, Indonesia ( English ) United States Geological Survey. August 5, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ Indonesia: Lombok quakes don't meet national disaster status. (No longer available online.) In: Springfield News-Sun . August 21, 2018, archived from the original on August 21, 2018 ; accessed on August 21, 2018 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.springfieldnewssun.com
  12. ↑ https://www.drk.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/meldung/indonesische-insel-lombok-erneut-von-schwerem-erdbeben-erschuettert
  13. ↑ https://www.presseportal.de/pm/67602/4027413
  14. ↑ https://www.humedica.org/berichte/2018/humedica-schickt-aerzteteam-auf-die-indonesische-insel-lombok/index_ger.html