The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Coastal village experiences unusually high tides

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 29, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Coastal village experiences unusually high tides

Correspondent

Strange phenomenon sets off tsunami scare among villagers

KAKINADA: The seaside village of Subbampet, a hamlet of Uppada Kothapalli, 15 km from here, has been experiencing unusually high tides since morning on Thursday, triggering anxiety among the villagers, who are predominantly fishermen, and reminding them of the recent tsunami.

The fishermen, who are still in the grip of the tsunami scare, have stopped fishing and are preparing to move over to nearby areas for safety with their belongings. Normally, it was low tide time, but Subbampet is experiencing high tides along the 1-km length of the bay near the village. However, the sea has been calm in the port area in Kakinada and also along the coast till Subbampet.

The Collector, K S Jawahar Reddy, said that the district administration had taken all precautions and deputed the RDO, MRO to inspect and if necessary take rescue and relief operations. But he said there was no need to get alarmed. There was no loss of life or damage to property. The Collector said he would camp at the village for some time in the evening, as the waves are likely to strike around 8 pm.

Meanwhile, the port authorities here, as a precautionary measure, stopped the operation of cargo and fishing boats in the port channel after sounding an alert since noon.

The Inchage Port Officer, Mr Panduranga Raju, said that the high tidal waves were likely to be experienced for some more time all along the coast, according to information received from the Cyclone warning centre at Visakhapatnam. Though the cause of the turbulence was not given, he said it was informed that the high ocean active tidal wave of `V' order of one to two metres height was likely along the coast in some parts of coastal Andhra during next 12 hours.

Administration on alert

Our Nellore Staff Reporter writes: Following reports on roughness in the sea and resultant high waves in Kakinada and other places in the coastal area on Thursday, the Nellore district administration has placed the administrative machinery on an alert. The three RDOs in the district have been advised to maintain vigilance and take necessary steps, depending on the situation.

Our Hyderabad Special Correspondent writes: Experts are puzzled by the reports of the high tidal waves at a few places in the coastal areas and felt that the unusual phenomenon needs to be studied further before drawing any conclusions.

The Director of the meteorological centre here, G.Sudhakar Rao, said there was neither any seismic activity nor a weather system, which could have set off such tides. The Director, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), V.P.Dimri, said that no seismic activity was recorded in the coastal region or from areas near the coast during the last 24 hours. He felt that it may not have been caused by a marine landslide either, because the sea rise would be gradual in such an eventuality.

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