A powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck the northern coast of Lombok yesterday, triggering small tsunamis and causing panic among residents and tourists there as well as on the neighbouring island of Bali.

Parts of Lombok were without electricity due to the quake's impact, Indonesian disaster management agency's spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. "Widespread damage is expected on land. High casualties are expected," he said.

The tsunamis were measured between 9cm and 13cm on Lombok island.

Media reports quoted search-and-rescue officials as saying that the quake had claimed at least 19 lives and left dozens injured.

The quake, which struck at 6.56pm local time at a depth of 15km, came a week after a magnitude-6.4 quake hit Lombok on July 29, killing 14 people. That quake triggered deadly landslides, and hundreds of hikers had to be evacuated from Mount Rinjani.

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said he and other members of a Singapore delegation who were in Lombok for a security conference were safe.

In Bali, the quake was felt for several seconds.

Singapore's National Environment Agency said there were no reports of tremors in the Republic.

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