A TEACHER from Bicester has described the moment a catastrophic earthquake hit Japan.

Hundreds were last night feared dead after the 8.9 magnitude quake sparked a 33ft tsunami, with entire towns washed away by mud and debris.

Nikki Zywina, 22, is working as an assistant language teacher in Yokote, a city of 100,000 people close to the earthquake’s epicentre.

The former Oxford University student was teaching when the tremor struck.

Ms Zywina said: “We were in school, talking to the kids when suddenly the entire school was swaying for three minutes.

“There have been constant aftershocks ever since and the power went out .

“There have been two aftershocks in the last 30 minutes. They are big.

“We got off pretty lightly I think. I have not heard from anyone in Miyagi, but it’s meant to be much worse there.”

Experts said the earthquake was 8,000 times bigger than the one that hit Christchurch last month.

The Asian country is at high risk of earthquakes due to its position on the boundary of the Pacific and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Iku Nishikawa, 48, who teaches Japanese in Oxford, said it was a “terrible day” for her country.

She said: “My family are from the south of Japan so there has been minimal damage.

“But I know that there are a lot of very worried Japanese people in Oxford right now who are trying to make contact with home.

“It is a terrible day.”

Ms Zywina said power cuts caused chaos for people trying to contact loved ones.

She said: “Everywhere in our prefecture the power is out. Possibly all over Northern Japan.

“We have no news but on the radio. Gas and water are still fine. The news is there might be aftershocks for the next month.

“Everyone is coping. The teachers say it’s the biggest they’ve ever felt, but they’re pretty calm.

“None of the shops have power. They-re all chock full of people buying up food. We have no idea when power is going to come back.

“It was meant to be graduation tomorrow but it isn’t going to go ahead. I am probably going to sleep under my table.”

UK airlines cancelled flights to Tokyo and “closely monitored” the situation regarding tsunamis, which were threatening Australia, Mexico and Hawaii.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the earthquake was a “terrible reminder of the destructive power of nature”.