Two strong earthquakes shake the island of Lombok, Indonesia

[G.O.G]

Two strong earthquakes were felt on Sunday in the tourist island of Lombok, Indonesia, with no reported injuries or deaths so far.

The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake on Sunday night had a magnitude of 6.9 and had a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), AP reported.

Hours earlier, in the morning, another movement of magnitude 6.3 shook the island of Lombok, causing mudslides on Mount Rinjani and damage to buildings. The region is trying to recover from another earthquake that left 460 dead at the beginning of the month.

According to the Geological Service, the morning tremor had its epicenter in the northeast of the tourist island and was recorded at a depth of 7 kilometers (4 miles). It was felt on the neighboring island of Bali and was preceded by another of magnitude 5.4 recorded minutes earlier in the same area of Lombok.

A reporter for The Associated Press on the island said the earthquake caused landslides on the slopes of the Rinjani and panic scenes in the villages. A video recorded by the Indonesian Red Cross showed the huge clouds of dust that were generated on the mountain.

The shaking knocked down motorcycles and damaged buildings in the town of Sembalun, including in a community building that collapsed. The property had already been affected by the previous tremors, explained Sutopo spokesperson Purwo Nugroho of the National Agency for Disaster Mitigation. In the list of damaged structures there were also houses and a mosque, he added.

On Aug. 5, a telluric earthquake of magnitude 7.0 caused 460 deaths, damaged tens of thousands of homes and left hundreds of thousands displaced in Lombok.

Mount Rinjani was closed to the public since another earthquake in July, in which 16 people lost their lives, caused landslides and left hundreds of tourists stranded on the active volcano.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location in the so-called "Belt of Fire", an area of volcanoes and geological faults in the Pacific basin. In December 2004, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 9.1 registered with Sumatra caused a tsunami that left 230,000 dead in 12 countries.