The Hindu : Front Page : Mild tremor felt in parts of Chennai

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Saturday, Jun 28, 2008
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Mild tremor felt in parts of Chennai

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K. Pichumani

Observation: DDG of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, R.V. Sharma, with the seismic graph on Friday.

CHENNAI: A mild tremor, linked to an earthquake of moderate intensity near the Andaman Islands, shook several parts of the city around 5.10 p.m. on Friday.

Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, R.V. Sharma, said no tsunami warning was issued following the quake, which measured 6.7 on the Richter scale and had its epicentre at 11.0 degree north (latitude) and 91.6 degrees east (longitude).

An aftershock measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale was experienced close to the epicentre at 6.37 p.m.

Residents of various localities, including Nungambakkam, Mylapore, Vadapalani, Nandanam, Ambattur and Koyambedu said they felt a slight tremor. Subramaniam, a resident of Nungambakkam, who resides on the third floor of a residential complex, said: “The sofa on which I was sitting was rattled. I did not realise it was a tremor.”

An executive with an IT firm at Gopalapuram said: “I was sitting on a chair with rollers. At first I thought I was dizzy, but then I realised the chair was moving. When I looked out of the window, I saw a startled look on people’s faces. A man crossing the road had stopped right in his tracks.”

The Meteorological Department was flooded with calls from residents to confirm whether there had been an earthquake, said Regional Meteorological Centre director S. Balachandran.

Minutes after the tremor, power supply was disrupted in many parts of the city, including Anna Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Vadapalani, Virugambakkam and Sowcarpet.

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