BALI vs LOMBOK MEDIA MISINFORMATION

Our hearts and prayers go out to our neighbors in Lombok and the Gili Islands. They have suffered a great loss and will be out of business for the near future. We wish them all a speedy recovery. August 5th a 7.0 earthquake rocked Lombok and the Gili Islands, subsequently, numerous 5.0+ aftershocks have pummeled them further. Bali expats and locals have sent aid and supplies to our Lombok and Gili neighbors in an effort to help.

BALI vs LOMBOK MEDIA MISINFORMATION

Many reports are mislabeling these events as a Bali earthquake. Bali has experienced tremors from the Lombok quake, but no serious damage or disruption of tourist services. Consequently, tremors in Bali have been blamed for 2 deaths. One from a heart attack and another from a poorly constructed wall falling on a woman.  The extent of damage from these events has been minimal for Bali.

Bali’s worst event in decades was last year when the international press exaggerated the Mt Agung volcano. The actual eruption took place in November 2017 and was responsible for an airport closure of fewer than 3 days on and off. Not a single fatality or injury was reported out of over 100,000+ people evacuated from a 6km area around Mt. Agung. Yet the international press spun this out of proportion to the extent of costing Bali 1.5 BILLION in lost revenue. This was the real tragedy, not the volcano itself.

How can we counteract these misleading and overblown stories? Boots on the ground are the best source of information of what is really happening. I will do my best to keep you informed.