Parts of T.N., Pondy, Karnataka, A.P. rocked

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

CHENNAI, SEPT. 25. A `moderate' earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, shook parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry around 8.30 tonight. Its epicentre lay 50 km east of Pondicherry, in the Bay of Bengal.

As the ground shook under their feet for a few seconds, people rushed out of homes and commercial establishments. A wave of panic swept Chennai and telephone lines were jammed. However, no serious damage to property or casualties were reported.

According to the Deputy Director-General of Meteorology, Chennai, Mr. A.K. Bhatnagar, the tremors were felt in two spells of about five seconds each. The epicentre was located at the latitude of 11.8 north and the longitude of 80.4 east.

After shocks ruled out

He said that despite the intensity, Tamil Nadu remained in the `safer zone' as the epicentre lay in the sea. On the possibility of `aftershocks', he said tremors of this magnitude did not normally give room for them.

Mr. Bhatnagar said the last tremor in the southern peninsula was experienced on December 12 last year, with Idukki in Kerala as its epicentre.

Sources in Pondicherry said the impact of the tremor was felt all over, but no serious damage was reported. It was `unusual' for this port town to feel a quake. It was only in 1966 that it experienced one. Cuddalore and Kancheepuram also reported shocks.

Prof. Periyakali of Madras University, researching applied geology, felt that the tremor could have been due to a shear zone running across Chennai-Kolar-Bangalore.

Because the Deccan is a comparatively `more stable' plate, serious damage was unlikely due to the present tremors.

There could have been a direct link between the intensity of tremors felt in the city and the excessive exploitation of groundwater. This could have unsettled the core, he said.

Police and fire service sources said there were no reports of any loss of life or damage to properties. Many buildings had developed cracks, but there was `general panic' and people rushed out of the buildings on to the streets.

With rumour-mongers spreading the word that there would be a second and greater tremor, people were afraid to return indoors.

In many of the hospitals in and around Chennai, patients and staff ran out of the wards and insisted on staying outdoors. The hospital managements had a tough time convincing them that the tremor was over and they could go back inside.

Many people complained of giddiness and others were too shocked and dazed. Most parts of Chennai and its suburbs experienced the tremors.

The Chennai airport felt the impact of the quake and a vital delta `taxi way', connecting the main runway, developed a crack. Engineers and officials inspected the damage and ordered its closure. A notice was issued to airmen, alerting the global airline operators about the `unserviceability' of the track.

Airport sources said that normal operations would continue, but there would be a `caution' for aircraft operations. The direct speech circuit linking Chennai-Mumbai and Chennai-Kuala Lumpur airports were disrupted and not restored till midnight.

Adding to the anxiety was the fact that the Air Traffic Control had to handle three landings around the time of the tremor. The Air Lanka (from Colombo), Air India (from Singapore) and Jet (from Bangalore) were asked to hover around for sometime and allowed to land after runway check.

Southern Railway sources said trains were operated with `caution'.

Unusual activity

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 25. The Director-General of India Meteorological Department, Dr. R.R. Kelkar, described the quake as moderate and said it was rather unusual, considering that the areas falls under seismic zone I, which is the least prone area.

He told The Hindu, history revealed that there had been only one such earthquake in the area over the past 100 years.

The last tremor was in 1966 and its intensity was 5.2 on Richter scale. It was centered at latitude 11.6 degrees north and 84.9 degrees east. There had been none before or after it during the entire 20th century.

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