A TEACHER from Todmorden who survived the horrific Taiwan earthquake today spoke of his terrifying ordeal which he described as: "The most frightening moment of my entire life".

Andrew Town, 22, whose mother Jennifer is secretary at Todmorden High School, is now living in a park in a sleeping bag until he can go back to the apartment where he lives, in Taichung City.

He was half-asleep when the earthquake struck at 2am on Monday.

He said: "My apartment began to shake violently. In my 11 months in Taiwan I've experienced earth tremors before, but I knew immediately that this was something more powerful.

"I was out of bed within two seconds and heading for a door frame, supposedly one of the strongest structures within any building, and the least likely to collapse during an earthquake.

"Such was the ferocity of the quake, that I had to hold on to anything I could get my hands on to prevent me from falling over. My room-mate tried desperately to reach the doorway in which In was standing, but a simple task of walking ten metres because extremely difficult under the circumstances.

"As I stumbled through the darkness trying to find my shoes, I was only too well aware of the broken glass that littered the floor.

"The ground was still shaking with minor tremors as I made my way, with my room-mate down the stairway and out of the building. "People were already on the street staring at each other with disbelief at what had just happened."

They made their way to a park as sirens wailed and plumes of smoke filled the air.

Andrew, who graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University, added: "Then, the ground thundered into life again. People screamed and I wished I was a million miles away. Such aftershocks occurred frequently throughout the night and each was as terrifying as the last.

"We stayed in the park the whole night.

"I entered the apartment once to get some money and call my parents to tell them I was okay.

"It was extremely unnerving wandering around in the dark. It's a sad situation and I feel fortunate that my friends and I all survived.

"Sadly, though, thousands weren't so lucky. An event such as an earthquake will be reported on the news for a couple of weeks after it occurs. "After that, however, the vast majority will forget it ever happened, as more recent occurrences dominate the headlines."

His mother said: "I had only just got home after a meeting on Monday evening when my husband, Geoff, said Andrew had been on the 'phone to say that the area where he lives, Taichung City, had been hit by an earthquake but he was all right.

"I had not even heard about the earthquake by that time, but after his 'phone call we were glued to the TV all night watching the reports.

"He is currently sleeping in a park in a sleeping bag until he can go back into his apartment.

"We are just so pleased and relieved that he is OK."

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