Alert sounded along Odisha coast

An alert was sounded along the Odisha coast today with warnings issued to fishermen and people following the massive earthquake off Sumatra coast.

The alert was issued to the administration in six districts - Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Ganjam and Puri, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Mohapatra said.

Though there is no cause for worry, the government may take steps to evacuate people in some coastal areas if necessary due to the possibility of high tides, he said adding people, particularly tourists, have been asked to remain watchful. Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea as a precautionary measure, Mohapatra said.

 In the tourist sea shore town of Puri and other places, announcements were made over public address systems asking people not to venture into the sea. Tourists were asked to stay away from the sea, officials said.

Alerts were also issued in the port town of Paradip as well as Gopalpur and Astarang. Mild tremors were felt in different parts of Odisha, including the state capital, here following the massive earthquake in Sumatra.

Apart from Bhubaneswar, places like Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak were shaken. There was no report of casualty or damage from anywhere in the state, they said.