JAKARTA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and scores of buildings destroyed as an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted West Nusa Tenggara province of central Indonesia earlier Sunday, officials said.

The quake's epicenter was located at 28 km northwest of Lombok Timur, with a depth of 10 km under-land, an official of the agency, Widyamotko, told Xinhua over phone.

The earthquake left two persons dead in Lombok Timur and another in Lombok Utara, an official of the national disaster management agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, revealed.

The quake was felt strong and scores of buildings in the province were damaged, he told Xinhua.

The climbing activity at Mount Rinjani volcano was shut down as officials found cues heralding possible landslides, said Sutopo.

Assessment on further downside risk of the quake is under way, Sutopo added.

Two moderate aftershocks came following the main shock in the matter of minutes, according to Widyamotko.

Indonesia is prone to quakes as it lies on vulnerable quake-affected areas called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."