An Australian family who survived a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on August 5 on the Indonesian island of Lombok has appealed for donations for Lombok residents.

The Harvey family made the plea after locals helped them on the night of the frightening earthquake.

Gillian Harvey, and her partner Michael, who are originally from Ireland, and their young daughters Sophie, 4, and Chloe, 1, were dining by the beach on Gili Trawangan on August 5 when the earthquake hit.

Gillian told Storyful they moved to a nearby hill after they felt the ground shaking violently, prompting buildings around them to collapse.

She said locals gave them supplies to survive their night on the hill, as hundreds of people took to higher ground in a bid to avoid a possible tsunami.

“The local people and volunteers were brilliant in bringing up water and sheets for people,” she said. "We managed to get a sheet and water to make a bed for the children and get them to sleep. It was freezing up there and really scary.

The family were able to return to neighbouring Bali on August 6 and spent the following days recovering from shock, she said. They then decided to source supplies for locals, including tarps; buckets; clothes; toys; educational materials; body wash; toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Sharing posts on Instagram, the family called for people to contribute to a fund for Lombok residents, saying locals were “destroyed” and “left with nothing.”

Gillian said: “[This is] just something small we could give back to the local people, as without them, that night we would have had no water or sheets.” Credit: wherearewegoingtomorrowtravel via Storyful