The shallow 6.4-magnitude quake jolted the island in the early morning, sending people running outside in panic and triggering landslides on popular mountain hiking routes.
Scores of aftershocks sparked fear among survivors. More than 120 were recorded, the biggest with a magnitude of 5.7, Indonesia’s meteorology agency said.
Local officials have declared a three day state emergency, according to multiple television reports.
"Thirteen people have died, hundreds of people were injured and thousands of homes were damaged in the earthquake in East Lombok. We are still collecting data," Indonesian disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.
One Malaysian was killed and six injured, the Malaysian foreign ministry said.
"All of them were at the foot of Mount Rinjani when the incident happened," it said.
The constant aftershocks sparked terrified shouts among scores of people made homeless in the eastern village of Sembalun, an AFP reporter said.
Some 200 people from 35 families whose house were damaged or destroyed had pitched tents there.
"People are traumatised and too scared to return home for fear the aftershocks could destroy their homes completely," the reporter said.
"Everytime there is an aftershock they cry out in fear and tremors can still be felt constantly."
Evacuees told AFP they badly needed blankets and instant food because there was no time to bring anything when they fled their homes.
Popular trekking trails on Mount Rinjani were closed because of landslides, according to the disaster agency.
One local trek organiser described how rocks rained down on two Spanish hikers and their guide as they were caught on a mountain trail.
"My trekking guide who was accompanying two tourists from Spain suffered from minor injuries during the jolt. They were hiking from Segara Anak Lake to Plawangan and rocks were falling on them during the quake," said Karyadi, the owner of a guesthouse near Rinjani where the pair were staying.
The two Spaniards were also slightly hurt.
"Our guests were in shock because of the incident," said Karyadi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
The epicentre of the earthquake struck 50 km (30 miles) northeast of Lombok’s main city Mataram, the United States Geological Survey said, far from the main tourist spots on the south and west of the island.
USGS said two of the aftershocks measured more than 5-magnitude.
The jolt was felt some 100 km (60 miles) away in the bustling holiday island of Bali, although there were no immediate reports of damage there.
"The earthquake was very strong... and everybody in my house panicked, we all ran outside," said Zulkifli, a resident of North Lombok near the epicentre.
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