Death toll from Indonesian quakes rises to 506

By Adem Salvarcioglu

ANKARA

The death toll from earthquakes that rocked eastern Indonesia since Aug. 5 has risen to over 500, local authorities said on Tuesday.

According to a statement by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency (BNPB), 506 people have been killed in the earthquakes of these past two weeks.

The previous figure about the death toll -- announced on Aug. 13 -- was 436.

Nugroho said that nearly 75,000 houses had been damaged and that 431,436 people had been forced to leave their homes.

Search-and-rescue operations are still ongoing.

On Aug. 5, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake jolted island of Lombok.

In the last 15 days, at least 800 aftershocks were recorded.

Last weekend, twin earthquakes, of which the magnitudes were higher than 6.0, rocked this island.