Jonny Dallas (37) was one of the 10 million people who were left scrambling for their lives when a 7.9 magnitude quake shook the Sichuan province on Monday afternoon killing more than 12,000 people.

He also fears another massive tremor will strike the region causing more widespread devastation and death.

The Limavady man lives in the city of Chengdu — the capital of the province and one of the worst hit areas — with his wife Kim and two children Gemma and Angus.

The 37-year-old moved his young family to the area two-and- a-half years ago after he was appointed production manager at Intel Corporation.

Speaking briefly to the Belfast Telegraph last night Mr Dallas — who had to cut short his interview to seek safety after another small tremor struck — explained the normally bustling city, which is about 146 kms from Wenchuan, the epicentre of the quake, had been thrown into chaos with thousands of locals fleeing the area amid fears another massive quake could strike.

"Everybody is still kind of nervous, we are trying to get into some sort of normal life but there is an air of cautiousness about," he explained from his home moments before he had to flee.

"A lot of people are sleeping out of their houses. They are worried at night there might be a decent size aftershock but they are not worried about the buildings collapsing, its more like furniture falling.

"The actual tremor, when it struck, lasted just two-and-a-half minutes. It was about 2.30 in the afternoon. My house was not structurally damaged but our TV fell, bookshelves, shelves... things like that. My wife and family are pretty shook up. I was at work when it happened. I had to take cover under a table.

"Everyone is really worried. There is a lot of chaos. Rumours of another quake hitting spread really fast. Yesterday someone was saying another one was going to hit at 4pm but how could they know precisely when it would hit? Then it didn't and some people kept waiting for it to come.

"The aftershocks are constant. They strike maybe once or twice an hour. Some are very noticeable and some are just very faint. You then find people saying all the time 'did you feel that?'. It has just left everyone feeling uneasy. Last night I felt one hit at about 4am — it woke me up — that's just what it is like at the moment. There is one right now."

Mr Dallas explained because of the uncertainty, he and his family had decided to abandon their home during the night and sleep in a local park with the large group of expats who had set up camp. Many live in high rise apartments which are more sensitive to the effects of an earthquake and decided to set up camp in a local park because they believed it would be safer on lower ground. He also said many locals had left the city and were sleeping in their cars at the side of the roads away from tall buildings because they feared another large-scale tremor could hit.

Since Monday more than 300 aftershocks have rattled the region, sending people running into the streets of Chengdu. Three of the aftershocks have registered over 6 on the Richter scale, and 14 were between 5 and 6.

So far around 12,000 people have died as a result of the earthquake but that number is expected to rise once rescuers are able to asses the devastation in Wenchuan. Rescue efforts were hampered yesterday after torrential rain prevented aid workers from reaching parts of the old industrial city where more than 100,000 people live.

Despite the weather forecast, Mr Dallas said his family would continue to sleep in the tents at night until they felt it was completely safe to go home.

"At the moment we are in kind of a holding pattern, a wait and see situation, waiting for information. Everyone is just on edge. We are all waiting for a big aftershock. And I think it is going to be bad weather for the next three days. All we can think of is all those poor people who are going to be homeless. At least we have shelter."