VIJAYAWADA/VISAKHAPATNAM:Mild tremors were felt in several parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh on Saturday following a powerful earthquake in Nepal. People ran out of homes, offices, shops and malls as the ground shook for a few seconds. Those living in apartments came down quickly unsure of how severe the quake was.
Tremors were felt in Vijayawada, East and West Godavari, Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts. Luckily, there was neither loss of life nor property damage. The administration in all the districts became alert after receiving reports of tremors. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who was in Prakasam district, enquired with collectors about the severity of the quake in their respective districts.
The tremors were felt for a few seconds between 11.45 am and 11.55 am. In Visakhapatnam, Madhurawada, Akkayyapalem, Muralinagar and the Port areas experienced some powerful tremors. Sravani Gudimetla, a resident of Madhurawada, said she felt her bed shaking violently around 11.55 am. At Hotel Novotel on the beach road, people felt chairs and table fans shaking badly. On the other hand, some areas felt nothing at all. In Srikakulam district, tremors were mainly felt in places like Gara, Polaki, Srikurmam, Kalingapatnam, Srikakulam and Ranasthalam and Pydibhimavaram among other places. The residents of Chapuram and Killipalem on the outskirts of Srikakulam, experienced the tremors twice.
“We ran out of home when furniture and utensils moved suddenly,” recalled Krishna Sai, a resident of Visakha-B Colony on the outskirts of Srikakulam. A few parts of Vizianagaram town also experienced the tremors.
The tremors led to panic in different parts of East and West Godavari districts. The people in apartments came on to the roads, crying for help. Sources said deputy chief minister and home minister N Chinna Rajappa was on way to Rajahmundry and asked his driver to stop his car when he felt giddiness. “Initially, he thought his blood pressure had gone down but then, learnt about the mild tremors from some people who came running out of a shopping complex,” the sources said.
In Vijayawada too, tremors were felt in Benz Circle, Autonagar, Ramavarappadu, Payakapuram, Vidyadharapuram, Ayodhya Nagar and Krishnalanka. Ch Sri Charana, a teacher in Bhashyam School, Gayatri Nagar said: “After class, I came out to have some water. I suddenly felt that my head was spinning. I thought may be it was because of sunstroke. Then suddenly I realised it was because of tremors under my feet.”