Date:15/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/15/stories/2008111558930300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Seawater enters houses

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: Several coastal villages in north of Chennai witnessed a rough sea on Thursday and Friday. There was panic as word spread that the high waves seemed like a “mini-tsunami.”

In Kathivakkam municipal limits, the villages of Periyakuppam, Chinnakuppam and Thalankuppam were affected by the waves on Thursday. The Municipal Chairman A.Murugavel said 12 houses were damaged at Periyakuppam and 16 at Chinnakuppam. The Public Works Department had agreed to dump boulders in the area to prevent the seawater from entering the villages. Fisheries Minister K.P.P.Sami visited the area. In Tiruvottiyur Municipal limits, a few houses were damaged at Ennore Kuppam. Municipal officials, who visited the spots, said that boulders had not been dumped at Appar Nagar.

Meanwhile, officials of the Regional Meteorological Centre said the sea was very rough due to the depression over the Bay of Bengal. It is expected to cross the Andhra Pradesh between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam on Saturday night.