TREMORS ROCKED SEVERAL PARTS OF KERALA

TREMORS ROCKED SEVERAL

 PARTS OF KERALA

Tremors rocked several parts of the state Wednesady,11^th April,2012, afternoon, prompting panicked people to flock to open spaces following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake in Sumatra in Indonesia.  Tremors were first reported in the state from Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha. In Kochi, panic prevailed for a while as people came out of offices and highrise buildings. However, no damage to buildings or other properties reported from anywhere in the state.  The temblor was also felt at district hospital junction in Kollam. Patients were were evacuated from Benzegar hospital. In Kozhikode six buildings including corporation office experienced the shake following the tremor. Low-intensity earthquake was reported in Thiruvalla where it was experienced in the Revenue Tower building.

Tremor was also reported in Kannur, Payyannur, Kozhikode and Mangalapuram. High waves were reported in Mattupetti Dam and Mullaperiyar Dam, were mild quakes were registered. However, the tsunami warning issued in the state was withdrawn after the National Centre for Ocean Information Service denied the possibility of any such threats.The state government had earlier issued an alert across the state, particularly for the coastal belt, but it was withdrawn later in the evening. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, however, has asked people not to panic though the alert was issued just for people and asked authorities to maintain vigil. Tremors were also felt in Chennai, Bangalore, eastern and northeastern states. Bangalore and its neighbourhood were rocked by tremors, MET Department officials said. Tremors were also felt in Hubli-Dharwad region, they said, adding, no damage has been reported from anywhere so far.

Bangalore Metro Rail services were suspended around 2.40 pm and passengers were asked to vacate stations. People rushed to safety from high-rise buildings and offices after the tremors.
Operations at the Chennai Port had also been suspended in the wake of the tsunami warning. Six National Disaster Response Force teams had been moved to Chennai. But in Chennai, initial panic gave way to curiosity with eager residents flocking to the famed Marina beach to see a possible tsunami. "We want to see tsunami live," said an elderly woman, who was among the large number of people assembled at the beach, noting the earlier warning that the tsunami was to hit Chennai around 1700 hours. Micro-blogging sites and online community portals were flooded with messages of traffic chaos. Cellphone services were affected for a while before slowly resuming normalcy.

                                                     Prof. John Kurakar