My Account
Brick Bay residents Leanne and Paul Crean were shaken by their recent holiday experience in Bali, after being rocked by an earthquake that killed more than 400 people. The pair were in Seminyak when the magnitude seven earthquake struck the neighbouring island of Lombok on August 5.
“We were having dinner in an Indian restaurant at the time. Then there was a sound like a big truck coming down the road,” Leanne says. “I was confused at first as to what was going on. Then I could see the ground was shifting from left to right outside and it was clear it was an earthquake.”
Leanne says they remained calm, despite most people screaming and making a bolt for the exit.
“In New Zealand, we are trained to take cover during an earthquake, but over there people don’t trust the structural quality of the buildings so they move for open ground. Even though I’ve never faced a natural disaster before, I wasn’t that fazed. We even went back in afterwards and finished our dinner.”
Later, they returned to their hotel and had a drink at the bar when an aftershock struck and forced another evacuation. Following that, there were several more aftershocks and the Creans put together a get-away kit and arranged an emergency meeting spot.
“It certainly put us on edge for the rest of the holiday.”
