BALI EARTHQUAKE: UK tourist reveals TERRIFYING ESCAPE as Lombok rocked by NEW quakes

Tamsin Parker told Express.co.uk boats were cancelled for weeks before the 7.0 earthquake, adding to the chaos when visitors and locals tried to flee the island after the quake.

Ms Parker, 34, also witnessed confused authorities and over-stretched rescue resources becoming swamped as a series of largely unreported subsequent earthquakes struck the tourist haven, with a huge and desperate aid mission still underway.

She said she was hit by a feeling of “foreboding” in the weeks leading up to the earthquake due to issues with boat services, with residents receiving government letters informing them that certain services were being stopped.

Ms Parker told Express.co.uk: “The way that there was a sense of foreboding weeks ahead of the first quake was weird as no immediate signs were there – it was almost like the ground was saying something to me.”

The British resident, who has regularly traveled to Bali over a four-year period, said something was wrong when she saw footage of water flooding the streets the day before the first devastating quake struck on July 29.

She said: “The day before the 29th, I saw footage of water coming out of the ocean from drains and flooding the street. Then people were calling it a mini tsunami.”

The first reported earthquake on July 29th sent local residents into panic.

Ms Parker said: “I’ve felt earthquakes before, it was a small shake, but not as big as the one we felt.”

tourists cram on to a boat leaving Gili island in Bali

tourists cram on to a boat leaving Gili island in Bali (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

In her panic, she decided to change her flight in an attempt to escape the devastation.

She said: “I was due to fly back on the 5 September but changed to August 9, because we felt a small earthquake in the middle of the night, but it really frightened us.

“We cycled down together to the Broken Compass [a bar popular with tourists]. We sat down and a friend, Amy, joined us, at about 6.40pm, and we ordered the food, the table started shaking. You could hear this huge rumbling and skiing. We jumped off our chairs and just ran out.

“I was screaming and shouting ‘no’ and the floor was shaking and I just fell with the movement.

Panicked residents watched helplessly as home and buildings were destroyed

Panicked residents watched helplessly as home and buildings were destroyed (Image: Twitter/TamsinParker3)

“We were standing outside on the main street and you could hear this roar. My friend told me that there was a threat of a tsunami and I said ‘let’s go to the hill’.

In the panic I left my bag on the table and it had my phone, the keys – I had to run inside then grab my stuff. I went back in and all the staff were praying and hysterical and I said to go to the hills.”

Ms Parker then told of how she witnessed the devastation as lights went out and a heightened fear of a tsunami took hold of panicked locals.

She said: “I cycled up the street – everything was coming down around me. The walls of buildings had come down as I made my way up.

“People were trapped under walls, everything had been levelled – and we were trying to cycle up the street through it all.

“Amy was right behind me, but I had to just keep going – I just continued. I don’t know how I go to the bottom of the hill.

But when I got there I dropped everything and ran to the top, in the dark, as fast as I could.”

“I stated talking to people and we were there for the whole night, and I found my roommate on the hill.

Tamsin and her friends, some of them still in

Tamsin and her friends, some of them still in “refugee camps” on the island speak to police (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

The devatstaion caused by the earthwuake on July 29. There have been several more quakes in the region since

The devatstaion caused by the earthwuake on July 29. There have been several more quakes in the regi (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

“Amy also told me that she had made it to the top of the mountain – but there were thousands there. I was too scared to move.”

Ms Parker told Express.co.uk that despite aftershocks rumbling throughout the night, people were still risking their lives by heading back to ground level to bring up blankets and water.

She said: “I swapped a packet of cigarettes for a litre of water from a guy which was a miracle. It kept us alive.

“I thought we were doing to die, as there was a tsunami warning and everything will go totally dark that’s it.

Tamsin on the beach as she looks for a lifeline off the island - but she has vowed to return to help

Tamsin on the beach as she looks for a lifeline off the island – but she has vowed to return to help (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

“I just wasn’t sure what’s going to happen – we were sitting on the top of the hill, it was dark.

“We stayed there till sunrise and there were so many aftershocks. In the morning, we learned that we could go down and realise the extent of the damage.

Ms Parker said she and her friends on the higher ground felt “lucky” to have not been involved. But they learned the true extent of the internal issues on the island when they headed towards the harbour looking for an escape route home.

She said: “We went back home, which was miraculously still standing and picked up our bags and went to the harbour.

The UK holidaymaker told of her terrifying ordeal as she escaped the region

The UK holidaymaker told of her terrifying ordeal as she escaped the region (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

Ms Parker said the

Ms Parker said the “walls were falling down around me” (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

“But the harbour was packed and there weren’t enough boats. Officials told us an evacuation process was underway – but there were thousands desperately trying to escape.

“Not even the police knew what was happening, people were standing there for hours.

“I nearly gave up. There were so many people. I just thought ‘am I going to get off this island alive?’”

Ms Parker was offered a lifeline when she spoke to a man who had a small boat – but he originally said ‘no’ as the vessel was full.

But after a 45-minute wait, the man came back to pick up the Brit and gave her safe passage to Lombok.

But the devastation in the country is continuing, with Ms Parker claiming there has been a further week of earthquakes and aftershocks in the area. She says her friends and colleagues who were not as fortunate enough to escape are sleeping “in refugee camps”.

Despite the circumstances, expats trapped in the region have been organising donations and collections through social media.

Ms Parker told how the Indonesian president visited Lombok a few days ago and spent time in camps. He pledged to give each family money to rebuild their houses.

Ms Parker told of the devastation left by the July 29 earthquake

Ms Parker told of the devastation left by the July 29 earthquake (Image: TWITTER/TamsinParker3)

She said: “It’s amazing – but the destruction is severe and it’s going to take time.

”The Australian Red Cross are there and so are other charities such as Shelterbox – but I don’t know how much they can do.

“The government took too long react – I feel like going into the Indonesian embassy and asking them what’s going on.”

Ms Parker has set up a Crowdfunding page to help with relief efforts and has set up a charity to help people in the north of Lombok. 

She said: “However scared I am, I have to go back to help.”