Indonesian quake puts TN Coast on high alert

Chennai, July 17 (UNI) The coastal districts of Tamil Nadu have been put on high alert in the wake of the severe undersea earthquake in Indonesia today.

Though there was no threat of the deadly December 2004 tsunami revisiting India, the quake off the Indonesian island of Java measuring 7.2 on Richter scale triggered some anxious moments initially in the coastal districts.

As TV screens flashed the news of the severe quake, people in the coastal districts got unnerved about the possible revisit of the killer waves which wrought havoc on December 26 ''Black Sunday,'' in which nearly 10,000 people were killed.

Life was normal in Nagapattinam, which alone accounted for over 6,000 deaths in the 2004 tragedy and also in Chennai, Cuddalore, Kanniyakumari and Kancheepuram Districts.

But the Collectors of these districts did not want to leave anything to chance.

When contacted by UNI, they said the administration was on high alert though they had not issued any forma of "tsunami warning" to the public as there was no such threat to India.

Cuddalore District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi told UNI there was no tsunami alert for India. ''We have checked with the top government officials. But we are on high alert.'' ''After getting the information about the quake in Java island, we have alerted all officials. Besides, police and revenue machinery have been geared up,'' he said.

However, no alert had been issued to public as it would lead to needless panic.

''The control room is also on alert and in the event of any emergency, we are fully geared to evacuate the people living near the sea shore,'' he added.

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