The Hindu : National : East coast was just in the line of tsunamis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 27, 2004

National

National

East coast was just in the line of tsunamis

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, DEC. 26. The east coast of India, which experienced extensive havoc and loss of life, was lying just in the line of `tsunamis', the giant tidal waves caused by a devastating earth quake in the Indian Ocean.

Whenever an earthquake occurs on land, the seismic energy released by it normally travels in waves resulting in damage to buildings and other structures. But the seismic energy released by the earthquakes in oceans causes `tsunamis' which travel thousands of kilometres, according to R.K. Chadda, a seismologist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) here.

The `tsunamis' hit the obstacles that come along their path with great ferocity and the east coast was the "first obstacle" which the huge tidal waves encountered, causing destruction all along.

The Indonesian island of Sumatra is more than 2,000 km away from the Indian coast.

The NGRI seismic observatory which recorded the massive earthquake at 6.28 a.m. IST also registered about seven after shocks till noon. Though more tidal waves might be caused by the recurring after-shocks, the intensity would not be severe, as the energy released would be less. The energy released by an after-shock with 6.5 magnitude would be 100 times less than that of an earthquake with a magnitude of eight.

He said that this was the first time that so many people were killed in the country by tsunamis caused by an earthquake.

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