Death toll from Sunday’s Indonesian quake rises to 347

By Mahmut Atanur

JAKARTA, Indonesia

The death toll from Sunday’s earthquake that rocked eastern Indonesia has reached 347 on Wednesday, local authorities said.

In a news conference, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency, said 1,477 people were also injured in the earthquake, while more than 156,000 people were evacuated to safe areas.

Nughoro said the quake also damaged around 43,000 buildings -- including houses and public buildings, such as schools and mosques.

While the search and rescue operations are ongoing, the officials call for donations to provide food and drinking water to the victims.

On Sunday, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake jolted island of Lombok. The earthquake was centered northeast of the city of Mataram on Lombok island -- a popular tourist destination -- 15 kilometers under the surface, said the Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics.