A HARTLEPOOL ex-pat living in China had to flee from his office when an earthquake struck killing more than 15,000 people.
Kevin Rafferty works more than 600 miles from the quake but his office still felt the force.
More than 10 million people in China's Sichuan province are said to have been directly affected by Monday's earthquake.
The quake, which measured 7.9 o
n the Richter Scale, flattened entire villages and 15,000 people are known to have died with another 26,000 thought to be trapped in the wreckage.
Kevin and his colleagues were forced to flee their office for fear of aftershocks after the light fittings started to swing.
Kevin, who works in the leisure industry, said: "We had a few scary moments because we are only 600 miles from the epicentre. It was a powerful quake.
"I was on the ninth floor in my office when I thought I was turning dizzy.
"My chair then started to rock and when the light fittings started swinging we bailed out as did all the buildings around us. Most of them are high rises up to 26 floors, and we went up to the local park which is the nearest open area to wait for aftershocks.
"They were minor but still a bit disconcerting and then the death toll started coming in.
"This quake was only 29 km underground which is why the surface devastation is so extensive. I think the casualties will hit the 20,000 mark."
An earthquake expert has been studying the location of the quake for the past year and has warned that similar events could happen in the future.
Dr Alexander Densmore, of the institute of hazard and risk research at Durham University, said: "It's quite rare that these very large earthquakes occur on land and it's particularly rare that they occur in densely populated areas.
"This is an extraordinary event.
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