Death toll of Indonesia strong quake rises to 10, 40 injured

JAKARTA -- Ten people were killed and 40 others injured as an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted West Nusa Tenggara province of central Indonesia earlier Sunday, officials said.

The earthquake struck at 05:47 am local time and the epicenter, with a depth of 10 km under-land, was located 28 km northwest of Lombok Timur, an official of the agency Widyamotko told Xinhua over phone.

The quake left nine local residents and a Malaysian national dead, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho from the national disaster management agency said, adding that the deaths and injuries were caused by falling debris in the disaster.

The temblor was felt strong and dozens of houses and buildings were damaged in the province, he told Xinhua in a text message.

Climbing activity at Mount Rinjani volcano was shut down as officials found cues heralding possible landslides, said Sutopo.

The number of victims is expected to continue to rise, as assessments on further downside risks of the disaster are under way, he added.

Two moderate aftershocks came following the main shock in the matter of minutes, according to Widyamotko.

Indonesia is prone to quakes as it lies on vulnerable quake-affected areas called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."