Baptist Global Response Jumps Into Action After Second Earthquake Strikes Indonesia’s Lombok Island

On July 29, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Lombok, causing 16 deaths and damaging several communities. BGR responded quickly, working with a Singaporean response team to assess needs. But then, a second earthquake, measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck the same vicinity on August 5. Neither the team members nor their national partners sustained injuries, and now, they plan to continue their relief efforts in the aftermath of both disasters.
BGR photo

A team trained by Baptist Global Response (BGR) was already at work on Indonesia’s Lombok island when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake with strong aftershocks hit Sunday (Aug. 5), killing nearly 100 people.

The team from BGR’s Singapore office had deployed to the resort island several days before after a 6.4-magnitude quake had rocked Lombok on July 29, killing 16.

“The team had gone in to do that first assessment, and that assessment work got even harder when the second quake hit,” said Jeff Palmer, BGR executive director.

But even so, initial reports indicate that the damage is not as devastating as it could have been, he said. Though BGR grieves with the communities and families who have lost loved ones, the scope of the disaster isn’t as significant as with some other disasters the area has withstood in recent years, Palmer noted.

“There was collapsing of shelters and homes, but the tsunami warnings were called off,” he said. “It was not a massive earthquake compared to some others we’ve seen lately.”

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SOURCE: Baptist Press, Grace Thornton