"Indonesia says Lombok earthquakes that killed hundreds doesn't meet national disaster status"

Indonesia’s disaster agency says earthquakes that killed more than 500 people on the island of Lombok in the past month and caused half a billion dollars in damage doesn’t rise to the level of a national emergency.

Lombok, a less developed island next to the tourist hotspot of Bali, has been hit by a series of powerful quakes since late July. The latest two on Sunday, a magnitude 6.3 quake in the morning and a 6.9 temblor in the evening, included a swarm of aftershocks above magnitude 5.0 ...

The agency’s response to criticism, released Monday evening, strikes a nationalistic tone, noting that declaring a national disaster opens the “door as wide as possible” to international assistance that can cause new problems.

The disaster agency said the quakes have claimed 506 lives, damaged more than 74,000 homes and displaced 431,000 people — about 13 per cent of Lombok’s population. Damage and losses are currently estimated at 7.7 trillion rupiah ($528 million).

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-indonesia-says-lombok-earthquakes-that-killed-hundreds-dont-meet/