A HOLIDAYMAKER has told of her horror after several earthquakes struck while she was abroad in Bali, and she was caught up in an emergency evacuation.

Secondary school teacher Johanna McManus had travelled to Amed, East Bali, to spend six weeks scuba diving and exploring the region.

But during her stay she was caught up in three major earthquakes in the Indonesian island of Lombok, near Bali, that have caused widespread devastation.

The first, on July 29, registered at magnitude 6.4. It was followed by a 6.9-magnitude earthquake last Sunday.

Yesterday, the death toll had risen to 347, and rescuers are still searching for survivors.

Miss McManus, aged 36 from Heaton, was staying near the Bali Dive Cove, close to Amed beach — about 120km away from the location of the natural disaster.

She described the moment she and friends had to flee for their lives as the earthquake struck at about 7.45pm on August 5.

"The dive centre started shaking and then the locals began shouting 'earthquake'.

"We ran down the stairs to get out. And then it got stronger and stronger. The whole building was shaking. The road was moving.

"Hundreds of people were running out of their homes screaming and shouting.

"The next thing there was this almighty crash and all this smoke and dust, and a wall had fallen.

"Within about two or three minutes the locals were shouting tsunami because the government had issued a warning. When that came, we ran for our lives.

"We were down at sea level so the locals grabbed the tourists and led us on an evacuation path.

"Everyone was carrying children and babies. Everybody was just running to get to higher ground."

Miss McManus had her mobile phone and immediately posted a message on Facebook to let her family know she was safe.

Indonesian residents made shelters out of palm trees and lighted fires to keep people warm. They also handed out jumpers and food.

The tsunami warning was eventually called off and the locals and tourists were given the all-clear in the early hours of the morning.

Miss McManus said: "It was like a ghost town. There were cracks in the ceiling of my home-stay so I found a hotel for the night."

It was the second major earthquake she had experienced after flying out to Bali on July 22.

During the first on July 29, Miss McManus was woken at about 6.50am as her bed shook. Later that day, she went diving off the Amed coast and experienced aftershocks which she described as 'really loud, like a boat going over the top of you'.

The volunteer diving instructor at Bolton Area Divers cut her holiday short, leaving Bali on Tuesday 7.

Miss McManus was reunited with her father at Manchester Airport on Wednesday. She said: "When I walked through arrivals I didn't say anything. I just hugged him and cried."

But she says she is still shaken by what happened.

She said: "It was awful. I woke up here yesterday morning still feeling like I was shaking from the earthquake. It was just horrendous. There were six major earthquakes while I was there.

"The houses are not built like they are here. Their power was cut off, they lost water. People have lost their homes and temples. They were separated from friends and family."