Bay of Plenty people caught up in Indonesia's deadly quakes are relieved to escape unharmed.
Six Rotorua people were at a Bali nightclub when the 6.9 magnitude quake struck Lombok Island on Sunday night (NZ time), killing at least 82 people and leaving dozens injured.
Freelance photographer Peter Graney said he and five other locals who either live or who have lived in Rotorua, were on the top floor of a Bali nightclub celebrating a birthday when the quake hit the tourist island. He didn't name the other locals.
"At first we were unsure what was going on as the building slowly swayed. Then the intensity rapidly increased, and we realised we were in a major earthquake situation. People started crying around us and running for the exits."
Sally Konings, from Tauranga, returned from a 10-day holiday in Bali on August 2.
"I just thought 'perfect timing' with coming home."
The disaster came days after a 6.4 magnitude quake hit the same island, believed to have killed 17 people. Konings was in Canggu when that one struck.
"When the first one hit, it happened really early, like about 6.15am. It was real jerky. I was one of those rocky ones," she said.
"I was kind of thinking of a tsunami, but I didn't think of another one [earthquake] coming."
Konings said Bali would be "hectic" in the aftermath of the quake.
"Those buildings over there aren't sturdy. And in those towns, it's really busy with a lot of tourists. They say July is the busy time over there."
Tauranga travel agents spoken to agreed but would not comment further.
Dr John Ristau, a seismologist with GNS Science said there had been at least 15 earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 and above in the past 10 years.
"The Pacific Island arc from Samoa to Indonesia is one of the most seismically active regions on Earth, and earthquakes of this size are not unusual."