Shanmugam caught in Lombok earthquake that killed 82: "It was impossible to stand up"

Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam was in Mataram, Lombok, for a security conference, along with 10 other members of a Singapore delegation, when he experienced a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Sunday (Aug 5).

The quake, which saw the death of more than 82 victims, left hundreds injured, and destroyed thousands of buildings, had struck the northern coast of Lombok at a depth of 15km.

Mr Shanmugam was using his laptop in his room that was on the 10th floor when he felt the quake, according to his Facebook post.

When the quake occurred, he described the room to have "shook violently, walls cracked" and "it was quite impossible to stand up".

Mr Shanmugam then exited his room and went down a flight of stairs while the "building was still shaking".

He also hoped for everyone's safety and advised Singaporeans who were in Lombok to get in touch with the Embassy in Jakarta.

The Minister added that he and the other 10 members of the Singapore delegation were safe.

In three photos that accompanied his post, cracks are seen on walls and debris are seen littered on the ground.

https://www.facebook.com/k.shanmugam.page/posts/1825468207499701 

In an update Mr Shanmugam posted today (Aug 6), he thanked everyone's "kind thoughts and prayers" and shared photos of how the hotel and his room looked following the aftermath of the quake. 

The Minister also informed the public of the delegation members' move to a three-storey hotel and that they only "grabbed the most essential items before getting out", and in Mr Shanmugam's case, it was his "laptop with my government emails".

https://www.facebook.com/k.shanmugam.page/posts/1826165530763302 

"Everyone is waiting for a flight out," he said.