Tuesday’s quake in the Northern parts of the country and Nepal triggered panic in some parts of Kochi as its vibrations were felt by several people. The impact, however, was not felt everywhere but more in the high rises in certain areas.
Incidentally, Panampilly Nagar and Kathrikadavu, which were among the areas that had felt the vibrations during the devastating quake that hit Nepal on April 25, yet again felt the quake-induced vibrations.
The District Disaster Management Authority officials said that vibrations were reported only from the Panampilly Nagar area where people came out of buildings when the impact was felt 10 minutes after the tremor hit Nepal at 12.35 p.m. There is no need to issue an alert, said M.E. Jameela, deputy collector (disaster management). DDMA, however, was not able to confirm how long it lasted in view of multiple accounts.
Meanwhile, occupants of a high rise building at Kathrukkadavu also claimed to have felt the vibration. “I felt like falling off from the chair,” said Roshna, occupant of a 14th floor flat at Kathrukkadavu.
P. S. Divakaran, secretary to the Solar Commission, said the Commission’s proceedings where suspended and that he felt like falling, a couple of times. “Then the tubes and fans began to swing. We immediately suspended the proceedings and came out,” he said. Asked about why certain areas of the city alone felt the impact, Sekhar L. Kuriakose, head of the State Emergency Operation Centre, said that it was a question of having site-specific accelerating factors contributing to optimisation of waves. “Buildings with deep-rooted pillars amplify the impact and that’s why it’s felt more by people in high-rise buildings,” he said.
The wave propagation felt in the State was captured by six digital seismographs and accelerometers installed along the Idukki group of reservoirs.
Panampilly Nagar and Kathrikadavu, among
the areas that had felt the vibrations during the devastating quake that hit Nepal on April 25,
yet again felt the quake-induced vibrations.
