The Hindu : Karnataka News : Fear of tsunami grips coastal areas

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Fear of tsunami grips coastal areas

By M. Raghuram

MANGALORE, DEC. 27. A fear of tsunami has gripped Mangalore and other coastal areas in the State.

With the Meteorological Department in Thiruvananthapuram reporting seismic activity from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, fishermen are worried about their safety. After the tsunami effect was felt at Old Port in Mangalore, Surathkal, Malpe and Kumta, they have stopped venturing into the sea. They are also concerned about the safety of their boats anchored at various ports, including Mangalore Old Port, Malpe, and Belikeri, and small fishing wharfs at Hungarkatta, Ullal, and Thenka Yermal.

But, according to the Deputy Director of Fisheries, Suresh Kumar, here, everything appeared normal and a few purse-seine boats left on a fishing expedition earlier in the morning. He told The Hindu that the department had asked them though not to venture into the sea.

Capt. Mohan Kudri, Port Officer at Old Mangalore Port, said that there are no reports of unusually high tides in the deep sea, and fishermen have been told to return if they experience anything unusual.

Control room

The Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, Arvind Shrivastava, said that a control room in his office will be open all 24 hours. He appealed to the people not to believe rumours.

A notification from his office said tourists or locals should not go to the beachfront. Fishermen have been told that in an emergency, they can shift to school buildings in interior areas. Schools have been identified as rehabilitation centres.

The district administration has opened emergency telephone services. The numbers are: 1077 (toll free), 2420519, 2420550, 2420140; Mangalore taluk office - 2420187; police district control room - 2441717; city control room - 100.

`Sea is calm'

The president of the Karnataka Meenugarara Kriya Samiti, Loknath Bolar, said that according to fishermen, the sea is calm now.

Reacting to the order of the Udupi Deputy Commissioner, Shyam Bhat, asking fishermen not to venture into the sea, Mr. Bolar said fishermen feel their vessels are safer in the high seas than at the wharf. If there is another tsunami, the boats at the wharf will hit one another and also the wall of the wharf and suffer damage. The samiti appealed to the Deputy Commissioner not to stop fishermen from venturing into the sea.

The police gave the names of two young women who died at Surathkal on Sunday afternoon as Savitha D'Souza and Shakunthala.

The body of Savitha has not been found. The police investigation team reported that seawater engulfed the rock on which the women were sitting and they were drowned.

A report said that five tourists from Mangalore, who had gone to Chennai, died.

The Superintendent of Police, Dakshina Kannada, Soumendu Mukherjee, said the police are warning people not to go to the beachfront. The beaches are now deserted, and the families of fishermen who were living near the shore have moved to interior areas.

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