Wednesday, May 13, 2015

TN tsunami alert as Nepal quake boundary plate touches Andaman Nicobar Island, says expert

'Chennai felt Intensity-3 seismic wave as it lies on Zone III'



C Shivakumar



Chennai:



The coast of Tamil Nadu could be vulnerable to a massive tsunami if a
earthquake with a magnitude of above 7.5 at Richter Scale strikes
Andaman and Nicobar Island which lies along the Nepal quake boundary
plate, according to a top Indian geologist.



Former director general of Geological Survey of India A Sundaramoorthy
said that Nepal is experiencing the quake as the plate boundary
linking Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Nagaland, Manipur, Andamans and
Nicobar Island and Indonesia is moving towards the north.



This will result in friction and quake. The magnitude of 7.1
earthquake reported by Indian geologists in Nepal is due to it.



He said the plate movement would result in changes in the
Geo-morphology of Himalaya. The geologist said that Andaman and
Nicobar island is also vulnerable to such a magnitude of earthquake as
it lies on the same plate boundary.



“If it is on the sea and with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richeter
scale, then we will have a massive tsunami along the coastal Tamil
Nadu,” he said.



Interestingly, Chennai lies on Seismic Zone III and could feel the
seismic wave at higher intensity. “The seismic wave following the
impact of Nepal earthquake is felt in Chennai more than other parts of
Tamil Nadu as it lies on Zone III,” the geologist said.



To query on whether there will be enough breathing time to evacuate
the residents following the quake in Andaman and Nicobar Island, the
geologist said it is hard to predict the time.



He said while the quake struck Indonesia, India had a time of more
than one hour. “But if a quake strikes Andaman and Nicobar Island, it
is hard to predict how much time we would get to evacuate the people,”
he said.



He said that the state government should remain alert and be prepared
for any disaster if any that could happen following the quake.



Meanwhile, Chennaites felt the seismic waves at Teynampet, Besant
Nagar, Valasarvakkam, Santhome and Kodambakkam following the 7.1
magnitude earthquake epicentred in Nepal.



An official of the Seismology Unit of the Regional Meteorological
Centre here confirmed about the seismic waves. However, he said it is
too early to predict the intensity of the seismic waves. Unlike the
magnitude, the intensity is measured from 1 to 11. “The intensity
would be around 11 at the epicentre and Chennai could have experienced
the intensity of three,” said the official.



Interestingly, at many places, residents barged out of their homes as
they felt the vibrations. In Kodambakkam, residents stood outside a
building after they felt the vibration

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