AUSTRALIANS in Jakarta took refuge in apartments and hotel rooms as they heard and witnessed the horrific terror attacks unfold nearby.
The expats were among the residents of Indonesia's capital who were in lockdown, as their frantic family members tried to make sure they were safe. 
Carmel Gleeson, who has lived in Jakarta for two years, said the Australian community had been told the targets of the attacks were American but all foreigners were at risk. "It is bloody frightening," she said.
Parents were separated from their children who were stuck in schools and workers were told to stay in their office towers until police gave the all clear.
Ballarat woman Janelle Simanjuntak, who now teaches in Jakarta, posted messages to friends that her husband Arry and two young children Jeremy and   Maya were safe.
"I hope all my other Jakarta friends and family are safe too. We are safe but very concerned about what may come for those in the area affected," Ms Simanjuntak wrote.
Law intern Tanika Eve, 24, was trapped on the 54th floor of a high-rise building a few hundred metres from the explosions.
"I heard this really loud bang and saw smoke, we thought it came from a car and then we kept looking and suddenly there were four more coming from Starbucks," she said.
"We are scared to go downstairs. We heard that there are more explosions around Jakarta. We don't know where to go. We don't want to go home." Jack Gryfenberg, 23, from Melbourne, is undertaking an internship at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, and was in his office 2km away.
"There were several raids in the Christmas/New Year period and officials thought that there would be an attack," Mr Gryfenberg said. "There was no such attack and it seems like the attackers may have delayed their plans until today." Melbourne woman and Jakarta-based development worker Kate Walton said the Indonesian capital was eerily quiet after the initial bomb blasts.
Ms Walton said she could hear frequent sirens and see fire engines and heavily armoured police vehicles patrolling the city's streets.
"It's eerily quiet ... what would usually be a congested freeway is completely dead ... it's like the whole city's shut down," she said.
Former ABC journalist Eliza Harvey was at another shopping centre when the bombs exploded and said there had been a terror warning in place for a while.
"In fact there was a lot of talk about arrests with the help of the FBI and the AFP. Arrests sort of took place before Christmas," she said.
A group of Australian students participating in a professional practice program with ACICIS Study Indonesia were all confirmed safe.
Major Australian corporations with bases in Jakarta including ANZ, CBA and Telstra were yesterday frantically checking in with staff to ensure they were not caught up in the attacks. All staff were accounted for late last night.
"We are closely monitoring the unfolding situation," an ANZ spokesman said.CBA has about 1500 staff in Indonesia while ANZ has about 1000.