JAKARTA: A string of deadly earthquakes that rocked Indonesia’s Lombok island this summer killed 555 people and injured nearly 1,500, the disaster agency said Friday, with hundreds of thousands left homeless.
The picturesque island next to holiday hotspot Bali was hit by two deadly quakes on July 29 and August 5. On Sunday it was shaken by a string of fresh tremors and aftershocks, with the strongest measuring 6.9 magnitude.
Indonesia’s disaster agency said Friday most of the deaths occurred in the northern part of Lombok, with several also killed in neighboring Sumbawa island.
Many victims were killed by falling debris as the tremors rippled across the island, causing widespread devastation.
Whole communities were flattened, leaving cracked streets lined with rubble, caved-in roofs and collapsed buildings.
Some 390,000 people remain displaced after the quakes, the disaster agency said.
Aid organizations have vowed to step up humanitarian assistance on the island as devastated residents struggle in makeshift displacement camps.
They warned that access to food, shelter and clean water has been insufficient for some residents displaced by the disasters.
“We’ve deployed troops to isolated villages that are difficult to reach,” disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.
“There are many villages... that are hard to access with motorbikes. Some aid has to be delivered on foot.”
Rebuilding costs are estimated to top seven trillion rupiah ($478 million).
Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where tectonic plates collide and many of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
In 2004, a massive 9.1 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including 168,000 in Indonesia alone.
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Indonesian earthquake death toll reaches 555
Indonesian earthquake death toll reaches 555
Army chief says Switzerland can’t defend itself from full-scale attack
ZURICH: Switzerland cannot defend itself against a full-scale attack and must boost military spending given rising risks from Russia, the head of its armed forces said.
The country is prepared for attacks by “non-state actors” on critical infrastructure and for cyberattacks, but its military still faces major equipment gaps, Thomas Suessli told the NZZ newspaper.
“What we cannot do is defend against threats from a distance or even a full-scale attack on our country,” said Suessli, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
“It’s burdensome to know that in a real emergency, only a third of all soldiers would be fully equipped,” he said in an interview published on Saturday.
Switzerland is increasing defense spending, modernizing artillery and ground systems and replacing aging fighter jets with Lockheed Martin F-35As.
But the plan faces cost overruns, while critics question spending on artillery and munitions amid tight federal finances.
Suessli said attitudes toward the military had not shifted despite the war in Ukraine and Russian efforts to destabilize Europe.
He blamed Switzerland’s distance from the conflict, its lack of recent war experience and the false belief that neutrality offered protection.
“But that’s historically inaccurate. There are several neutral countries that were unarmed and were drawn into war. Neutrality only has value if it can be defended with weapons,” he said.
Switzerland has pledged to gradually raise defense spending to about 1 percent of GDP by around 2032, up from roughly 0.7 percent now – far below the 5 percent level agreed by NATO countries.
At that pace, the Swiss military would only be fully ready by around 2050.
“That is too long given the threat,” Suessli said.
The country is prepared for attacks by “non-state actors” on critical infrastructure and for cyberattacks, but its military still faces major equipment gaps, Thomas Suessli told the NZZ newspaper.
“What we cannot do is defend against threats from a distance or even a full-scale attack on our country,” said Suessli, who is stepping down at the end of the year.
“It’s burdensome to know that in a real emergency, only a third of all soldiers would be fully equipped,” he said in an interview published on Saturday.
Switzerland is increasing defense spending, modernizing artillery and ground systems and replacing aging fighter jets with Lockheed Martin F-35As.
But the plan faces cost overruns, while critics question spending on artillery and munitions amid tight federal finances.
Suessli said attitudes toward the military had not shifted despite the war in Ukraine and Russian efforts to destabilize Europe.
He blamed Switzerland’s distance from the conflict, its lack of recent war experience and the false belief that neutrality offered protection.
“But that’s historically inaccurate. There are several neutral countries that were unarmed and were drawn into war. Neutrality only has value if it can be defended with weapons,” he said.
Switzerland has pledged to gradually raise defense spending to about 1 percent of GDP by around 2032, up from roughly 0.7 percent now – far below the 5 percent level agreed by NATO countries.
At that pace, the Swiss military would only be fully ready by around 2050.
“That is too long given the threat,” Suessli said.
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