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REUTERS
PEMANANG, Indonesia
THE death toll from a huge 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia's Lombok island has climbed to more than 320, officials said on Friday, even as relief efforts picked up pace.| The national disaster mitigation agency said it had verified 321 deaths and that over 270,000 people had been forced to flee their homes because of a series of tremors over the past two weeks. A fresh 5.9 magnitude aftershock prompted fresh panic in the north of the popular holiday destination on Thursday. Nearly 75 percent of residential structures have been destroyed in northern Lombok because of poor construction unable to withstand strong tremors, the agency said in a statement. "Aid is being distributed as quickly as possible upon arrival,"Sutopo Nugroho, spokesman for the agency said in a statement.
