Watch: Qld family’s Vanuatu earthquake terror

A Queensland family have described the emotional moment when they landed in Australia after fleeing a destructive earthquake that hit Vanuatu during their vacation.

A Queensland family have described the emotional moment when they landed in Australia after fleeing the destructive earthquake in Vanuatu.

Ipswich mother Kelli Harvey was on an exciting trip with her husband Mischa King and five-year-old son Ethan on the holiday island before the terrifying event occurred.

The family were preparing to leave landmark Blue Lagoon when the 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck last Tuesday.

“If it had been five minutes earlier, I would have been in water,” Ms Harvey said.

“(I’m) so grateful that the timing was when I could put my foot on land.

“I was trying to get my son out of the water, because I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“As I was pushing my son, I remembered looking at the left where this tree that many people had been swinging and jumping off all morning, was just shaking violently.”

Mischa King and Ethan, 5, have fun in Vanuatu for two days before the earthquake hits. Picture: Supplied

Mischa King and his son Ethan, 5, swim in the Blue Lagoon before the earthquake. Picture: Supplied

Ms Harvey heard someone yelling “run” and her husband screaming “earthquake”.

“The Blue Lagoon went from straight after the earthquake from being the most beautiful turquoise blue colour to brown as the Brisbane River in a minute,” she said.

Ms Harvey said there were lots of cracks on the ground and ongoing aftershocks.

“We could see the rivers that were driven past before that were clear, they were murky brown,” she said.

“As we got closer and closer to Port Villa, more and more destruction was evident.”

Australians gather at a Vanuatu resort lobby to get information about their evacuation flight. Picture: Supplied

Australians are in line to evacuate on Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing C17A Globemaster III in Port Villa, Vanuatu. Picture: Supplied

After suffering the loss of water and power at their resort, they were briefed last Thursday afternoon that there would be a Royal Australian Air Force flight leaving in half an hour.

“I had been trying to make my kid feel as normal as possible, so I put him in kids club. I wanted him to focus on being a kid and not an earthquake,” Ms Harvey said.

“My husband stood in line. I went to our room, packed up clothes and stuff for him, because we couldn’t take any of our luggage.”

Mum Kelli Harvey, dad Mischa King and son Ethan on Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing C17A Globemaster III. Picture: Supplied

After the family landed in Australia, Ethan made a little fist to his mother.

“I said to him, ‘we’re home in Australia.’ … He went ‘yes’, so he was pretty happy,” Ms Harvey said.

“He didn’t cry the whole time. I think he only got teary when we said our bags had left and his new spiderman toys were there.

“It’s luggage, and it doesn’t matter. Those things are replaceable. Humans and your health are not.”

The military flights sent 686 Australians home before the resumption of commercial flights.

Mischa King (right), with wife Kelli Harvey and their son Ethan, 5, have safely returned their Ipswich home. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The family were grateful and appreciative to all people that had helped them, especially their tour guide Barry, also known as Baz.

“From someone who comes from Australia, we haven’t experienced earthquakes. We didn’t know what to do,” Ms Harvey said.

“He really helped to guide us and keep us calm.”

Soon after the earthquake, they lost internet service, but Barry who was on phone with his connection warned them there would be a tsunami.

“He said, ‘there’s a tsunami warning. We need to go up high,’” she recalled.

“He took us up to his house for the afternoon … which was really great for my five-year-old son.

“It made me feel a bit normal that he was playing with other kids.”

She said there were damages to their place including the water tank, and his income was affected with its impact on tourism.

The family set up a fundraiser to help them rebuild their home and their lives.

The earthquake took away 14 lives, injured more than 200 people and affected at least 100,000. It also caused damages to many buildings, key roads and bridges.

Originally published as Watch: Qld family’s Vanuatu earthquake terror