Indonesia Faces Large Earthquake
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the popular Indonesian resort island of Bali on Thursday.
More than 50 people were injured with broken bones and even head wounds as a result of the earthquake as ceilings and roofs of schools and buildings collapsed and rattled with the tremor.
Many of the injured people were young students from local schools that were wounded by collapsing infrastructure in their classrooms.
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It appears that most students faced minor wounds, however, a doctor from the Sanglah hospital where many of the students were taken told the AFP that two students remain under observation.
It remains unclear just how many people were injured but a hospital official told the Chinese Xinhua news agency, “So far the number of injured people has increased to 63, nine of whom are receiving intensive medical treatment at the emergency unit.”
The quake also triggered panic on the island reminding foreigners of the 2004 earthquake that triggered a devastating tsunami. The earthquake also shook the popular tourist district of Kuta causing tourists to run from their hotels in fear.
One tourist from California told Reuters, “It started at my feet and went all through my heart and head – it made me nauseous. My first reaction was to get out of the house. I was very confused when the roof started shaking.”
A local, Reno Permana, told the AFP, “Hundreds of people ran into the streets. It was chaos.”
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake hit 21 miles beneath the ocean floor.
Indonesia, where 129 active volcanoes are located, lies on a series of fault lines called the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” where two continental plates stretch from Japan to the Western hemisphere, making volcanic and seismic activity a regular occurrence for islanders.
