India issues tsunami alert =Oddy=

India issues tsunami alert Thursday, December 30, 2004 Posted: 5:35 AM EST (1035 GMT)



PORT BLAIR, India (CNN) -- Despite the apparent absence of any major seismological activity, Indian authorities have warned people in coastal areas to head for higher ground, four days after giant waves triggered by a massive earthquake killed at least 10,000 Indians.

Reports of Thursday's warning triggered panic in the streets of Port Blair, the regional capital of India's remote Andaman Islands, where the death toll from Sunday's tsunamis is expected to rise.

Sri Lanka said it would follow suit, but then quickly decided against issuing any evacuation orders.

India's central alert said there was evidence from foreign experts that a powerful earthquake could occur Thursday afternoon near Australia, triggering another tsunami in the Indian Ocean, according to a report from state-run Press Trust of India.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquake activity around the world, said it had not recorded any major activity that would spawn a tsunami.

"We have not located any large earthquakes or aftershocks in recent hours," USGS geophysicist John Minsch told CNN at 1 p.m. Thursday New Delhi time (2:30 a.m. ET).

According to the USGS Web site, the most recent aftershock from Sunday's 9.0-magnitude quake happened around 10 a.m. Thursday New Delhi time (11:30 p.m. Wednesday ET), measuring 5.3 in magnitude -- a moderate quake. It was centered near Indonesia's Sumatra island.

There have been more than 70 aftershocks recorded on the Web site from Sunday's quake. The strongest measured 7.1, but most have been between 5 and 6 in magnitude.

None have produced any tsunamis.

According to India's state-run media, the government issued the evacuation orders for its hard-hit Tamil Nadu state on the southeastern coast and the country's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Indian police ordered CNN's crew in Nagappattinam in Tamil Nadu to move inland several kilometers.

Later, Indian authorities clarified that they were only advising officials to be extra careful, although police decided not to take any chances and ordered people out of the coastal areas. Hours later, people headed back to the shores in Tamil Nadu province.

India's government is being criticized for not having done enough to evacuate the country's coastal areas before tsunamis struck its eastern coast Sunday.

The quake send deadly waves to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka before striking India's coast.

CNN Correspondents Ram Ramgopal in Nagappattinam, India; Satinder Bindra near Colombo, Sri Lanka; Suhasini Haidar in Port Blair, India; and Journalist Iqbal Athas near Colombo contributed to this report.



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Keep thinking and praying for these citizens. The last thing they need is ANOTHER tsunami after all the tragedy that has happened in the past few days.

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