November 8, 2009 Earthquake: Bima, Sumabawa, Indonesia

Two people killed at Kolo and hundreds injured in the Bima area. Damage estimated at approximately 2.43 million U.S. dollars. Felt (V) at Bima and Dompu and (IV) at Sumbawa Besar. Felt (III) at Denpasar, Bali. Also felt at Kuta and

Ubud. Felt at Labuhanbajo, Flores; Mataram, Lombok;

Makassar, Sulawesi. (reference #1053)

One person is reportedly dead, while hundreds of others were injured as a 6.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Bima regency and municipality in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) early on Monday.

I Nyoman Arga, head of Sultan Salahudin Airport's meteorology station in Bima, said the earthquake struck at 3:41 a.m. local time with its epicenter located some 28 kilometers to the northwest of Raba, Bima's capital, with a depth of 25 kilometers.

"It felt relatively strong and created a lot of panic," said Arga, adding that many of the buildings in the airport compound and the neighboring housing complex in Pali Belo sub-district, Belo district, were damaged by the quake.

Separately, Abdul Wahab, the head of public relations at Bima's regency administration said the earthquake was felt in 18 districts in the regency, with Soromandi and Ambalawi the worst-hit districts. The two are located some 25 kilometers east of Raba.

"They are the closest districts to the earthquake epicenter," he said, adding that a team of paramedics and social workers had been sent to the affected regions.

The regency administration, he said, recorded that at least 15 people were severely injured, while 50 more suffered minor injuries. The victims are being treated at Bima General Hospital and a number of community health centers (Puskesmas) in the regency.

"So far we have received no reports of fatalities," Fauza told The Jakarta Post by phone on Monday. Bima Police recorded that 60 houses in a number of districts were severely damaged, while 38 others sustained light damage.

Bima Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Fauza Barito said a number of public facilities including a school building, three police offices and a sub-district administration office, were also damaged.

Separately Bima municipal Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Catur Abriyanto said that at least four people were severely injured, 25 others suffered minor injuries and a number of buildings were damaged. Catur said the earthquake was felt in nine districts across the municipality. Among the damaged buildings, he said, included the city police's boarding house in Bima.

Responding to the earthquake, the NTB provincial administration held a coordination meeting in Mataram on Monday led by Governor Zainul Majdi. Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Bachrudin, head of NTB's Social, Population and Civil Record Agency said that at least 86 houses in Bima regency and municipality had suffered heavy damage, while another 200 others suffered minor damage.

In terms of victims, 38 people in both regions were reported to have sustained severe injuries, while 150 others suffered minor injuries. "The number of victims and the the level of damage could increase as not all of them have been properly reported yet," he said.

(above from reference #5484)