40 Houses Damaged In Lembata Quake

KUPANG, E Nusa Tenggara, Oct 11 (Antara) - Some 40 houses in Lembata district, East Nusa Tenggara province, were damaged after a series of earthquakes hit the area in the past two days, an official said. Eleven of the houses were damaged seriously, and 29 houses were damaged slightly, Lembata vice district head Thomas Ola Langoday stated on Wednesday. In addition, a 23-kilometer road was also covered by stones, disrupting access to earthquake-hit villages, he noted. "This morning, Lembata was rocked by a tectonic earthquake, with a magnitude of 4.9 on the Richter scale, followed by aftershocks of small magnitude. Tens of buildings were damaged, and a road was covered by stones," he revealed. A total of 24 villages around Mount Ile Lewotolok have been affected by the earthquake, he added. The earthquake forced 1,128 people to evacuate, with 748 of them being sheltered at the official residence of the old district head, 224 taking refuge at their relatives' houses, and 161 taking shelter at the office of the Ilepa sub-district head. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Office in Kupang, capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, pointed out that six strong earthquakes have rocked the area since Tuesday.