Odisha rattled by quake tremors

Odisha sounded a tsunami alert in six coastal districts hours after feeling tremors of a massive earthquake that rocked Sumatra coast in Indonesia, triggering panic among the people.

“The collectors of six coastal districts - Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Ganjam have been alerted. We would be watching the situation till 9 pm. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea,” said Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta K Mohapatra.

Wary of the tsunami scare, the authorities of Paradip Port Trust (PPT) decided to halt cargo handling. “We are keeping an eye on the situation and have stopped cargo loading and unloading from and to the vessels,” said Captain G P Biswal, deputy conservator of Paradip Port Trust (PPT).

The Dhamara port, a non-major port operating in the state, continued its normal operations. “We at Dhamara port are watchful and pretty alert but have not taken any drastic measures as of now. Port operations are continuing normally,” said Santosh K Mohapatra, chief executive officer of Dhamara Port Company Ltd.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in the presence of minister for revenue & disaster management S N Patra and Chief Secretary B K Patnaik.

The quake tremor was recorded around 14:09 hours, meteorological centre in Bhubhaneswar said. As some places including Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Puri and Paradeep were shaken by the tremor, people were seen moving out of their houses and office buildings.

“There were no reports of loss of life or property due to the earthquake,” said S C Sahu, director of Indian Meteorological Centre-Bhubaneswar.

High-rise apartments and offices in Bhubaneswar shook for at least a few seconds.

The state is likely to witness a choppy weather after the tremors. Rain and thunder squalls are likely to hit interior parts of the state in next two-three hours.

The showers would be accompanied with strong winds with speed in the range of 60-70 kmph affecting Kendrapada, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Khurda districts, said Sahu.