Lombok earthquake: Why has Indonesia been hit by so many earthquakes?

Scientific agency European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said a 4.5 magnitude earthquake, which hit today 64km west of Sumbawa Besar at 2.25pm BST, was the 22nd “felt” earthquake to have struck the Lombok region in 24 hours.

A series of powerful have caused the deaths of almost 500 people in the last few weeks across the region.

The first 6.4 magnitude quake on July 29 left 20 people dead before a larger 6.9 magnitude one on August 5 saw hundreds more die.

A further 14 people were killed by a 6.9 magnitude quake on Sunday.

Indonesia’s Red Cross says at least 460 people have died so far while 7,000 people have been injured and 415,000 displaced.

Why has Indonesia been hit by so many earthquakes?

Lombok is an island in Indonesia surrounded by popular tourist destination Bali on its left and Sumbawa on its right.

Indonesia is the world’s largest island country with thousands of islands situated in its chain between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

The archipelago is known for its frequent earthquake activity, as it sits on the Ring of Fire, a major area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are rife.

The horseshoe-shaped line, measuring 40,000km long, is responsible for about 90 per cent of earthquakes across the globe.

These include the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which left 226,000 people dead across 13 countries.

The largest number of casualties were from Indonesia, where 120,000 individuals died.

Why is the Ring of Fire so active?

The Ring of Fire causes so many earthquakes because of its large shifting tectonic plates.

Indonesia lies on the plate boundary between Australia and the Sunda Plate affecting the majority of Southeast Asia.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman at Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, said relief and reconstruction efforts had been “intensified” following the latest round of quakes.

He said: “The rebuilding of public facilities like hospitals and schools is being speeded up.”

Sunday’s quake left terrified residents running for cover.

Authorities have estimated the August 5 has caused more than $342 million (£267.8million) of damage.

International charity Save The Children said it was “ready to scale up their humanitarian response”.

Caroline Haga, humanitarian and emergency communications specialist with the Red Cross, said: “The population feels like it’s had the rug pulled from under them with this new quake.”