A “very strong” earthquake has hit the resort region of Bali, with witnesses saying the “walls of their house were shaking”.
Authorities say the quake struck southwest of Bali, however there is no tsunami warning.
The European earthquake monitoring agency EMSC initially said the quake was 6.2 magnitude but later downgraded it to a 5.7 magnitude earthquake.
The earthquake hit just after 8am local time (10am AEST), shaking most people awake.
Locals from Kuta, Canggu, Seminyak and Ubud all reported tremors, saying the quake was “strong but short”.
One tourist said they woke up to “major rattling” at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bali, however there were no damages.
A Kuta local said they were “damn scared”.
“I was still in bed.. suddenly the jolts began. It got stronger, lasted for few seconds. I was damn scared cuz (sic) I am in a new location, beach side, still worried for tsunami,” the Kuta witness reported to the EMSC site.
A number of local schools were also closed for the day after receiving slight damage.
Vision taken at a school in Ungasan Kuta Selatan showed roof tiles scattered across the grounds.
News.com.au’s Malcolm Farr was staying at an overhanging hotel in Ubud when the quake hit.
Local restaurant staff “sprinted to solid ground” as soon as the tremors began.
“Sensible overseas tourists followed them, but for some reason Japanese visitors and two Australian men decided to stay put,” he said.
“It was fascinating to be tossed around by nature about 100 meters above a dense jungle. The locals were too smart to be captivated…The shaking started faintly with ripples jogging my mango juice. The platform, never short of creaking moans and movements at the best of occasions, started to scream and jump as the tremors gained strength.
“Soon the plates were bouncing and drinks were spilling as the evacuation became a well-ordered stampede.
“The shaking lapsed around a minute, maybe more. The staff stayed strong and so did the dining platform. When the quake ended there was nothing but feeble and intermittent secondary shuddering left.”
Another witness in Kuta said it felt like “gentle rumbling”.
“Maybe twenty seconds of felt rumbling, gentle, not violent, but enough to feel a sense of relief when it abated,” the witness said.
The epicentre of the quake was 102kms southwest of Denpasar and 100km deep, EMSC said.
The strong quake caused parts of buildings to crumble, including a handful of hotels on the popular tourist island.
A handful of hotels in Nusa Dua and Seminyak were evacuated as a precaution but no fatalities or major damage has been reported.
A hotel guest at the Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort took to social media to say he had been evacuated and told to stand out the front.
EMSC said close to eight million people would’ve felt the tremors.
Rapper KidInk took to Twitter to say he was dragged awake by the tremors.
The Bali quake is the third to hit the region in as many days.
On Sunday, a 7.2 magnitude quake killed two people living on Indonesia’s Moluccas islands.
And on Sunday afternoon, a second 6.6 magnitude quake hit in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Western Australia.
Despite the WA quake being more than 200kms offshore, locals in Perth and Darwin reported feeling tremors.`
