Earthquake shakes Vizag on Sunday morning

Visakhapatnam: Tremors lasting about three minutes were felt in many parts of the city around 7.13 am on Sunday. The panic-stricken people rushed out of their houses and gathered on the road as a precautionary measure.

Officials from the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) stated that the magnitude of the quake was 1.8 with a five-km depth. It occurred at 7.13.58 am. On the same day, an earthquake of a 4.5 magnitude was reported in Bay of Bengal, nearly 300 km from Port Blair.

An Andhra University professor Mallikharjuna Rao from Shivaji Park said "We suddenly felt like a bomb had exploded Sunday morning. As I was aware of the earthquake and tremors, I rushed to the ground floor with my family."

Sunkara Murali Mohan, employed at Vizag Steel Plant, residing at NAD Kotha Road, said "The earth shook for a couple of minutes. Residents of our apartment gathered in front of the building immediately."

Official sources said that several minor earthquakes had occurred in Visakhapatnam in the last few months but they were not felt by the people. The biggest of them was on Sunday.

Officials from GVMC and city police said that no untoward incidents were reported from any part of the city.

People have been urged to alert the nearest Sachivalayams if they came across collapse of walls or thatched houses, or damages to properties. Officials from National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) said it was a rare occurrence on the east coast, particularly Andhra Pradesh.

Visakhapatnam collector A. Mallikarjun said people should not venture into the beaches till further instructions and could dial 0891-2560820 during emergencies.