Irishman describes terror of being caught up in Japanese earthquake

Limerick man Garry Irwin, a teacher in Japan, tells how he was caught up in the mayhem surrounding the earthquake in Kumamoto city. Nine people were killed and about 800 others injured in the 6.5 strength quake.

I WAS in Kumamoto city when the quake started. It was a typical Thursday evening, the weather was finally starting to get warm and feel more like summer.

While browsing the shelves of a large bookstore at around 9.30pm, the first bout of shaking began.