Some people in a few buildings in the city came out in the afternoon on Wednesday as they felt tremors.
Some people at Maxim Commercial Complex, Lobo Prabu Court (a building), and Nalpad Residency on the Light House Hill Road told The Hindu that they felt tremors.
“I could notice my table vibrate for a few seconds around 2.30 p.m. I thought it was because of my colleague sitting next to me. But then I heard the owner of the building asking us to vacate and we all came out,” said Sudhir, who works with a Reliance firm on the third floor of the commercial complex.
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Mr. Sudhir was among others in the complex, who stayed outside the complex for nearly an hour.
An employee of Nalpad Residency said there was not much panic in their hotel. “Our customers at the restaurant on the seventh floor felt tremors for a few seconds. But there was no panic. There was no disruption in our service,” he said.
Sumana Baliga, a resident of Mithila Apartment in Karangalpady, said she felt tremors twice at around 2.15 p.m. within a gap of 20 seconds.
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“At first I thought something was happening to me because nothing around me was shaking,” Ms. Baliga said.
An employee of an Information Technology company at Mudipu told The Hindu over phone that employees of the company felt tremors between 2.30 p.m. and 3 p.m.
“I felt my chair shaking. Others also reported the same. We were asked to vacate the building. Emergency exit was opened and we came out of the building,” he said. The employee, who did not wish to be named, said the employees of the company stood outside the building for about 40 minutes. “Our head count was taken outside the building. Later, we returned to the work,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer of the Panambur Beach Development Project Yathish Baikampady said that sea was calm, but a few local people had gathered on the beach out of curiosity. He said that police had left the beach in the evening after the district administration withdrew the tsunami alert.
President of the Karavali Traditional Country Boat Fishermen's Association B.K. Vasudev and Honorary president of the Karnataka Purse-Seine Meenugarara Sangha Umesh Karkera said that sea was calm and that fishermen would go out to sea on Thursday. A source in New Mangalore Port told The Hindu that work at the port was as usual. However, he said, port authorities were keeping a watch for any developments. “We are observing continuously," he said.
Meanwhile, there were nine vessels waiting outside the port for the past two days. It was normal. “It (their waiting) is in no way connected to the tsunami,” he said.
Tremors felt in Udupi
Staff Correspondent reports:
Tremors were felt in some parts of Udupi district on Wednesday. In places such as Manipal and Kundapur, people rushed out of the buildings, especially the multistoreyed ones, after the tremors. However, there was no damage of any kind due to tremors. But the district administration and the Department of Fisheries swung into action and took precautionary steps.
Deputy Commissioner M.T. Reju told The Hindu that earthquake tremors had been reported in some multi-storeyed buildings in Manipal including the Manipal Institute of Technology campus. People rushed out of Dattatreya Apartment building in Kundapur town, which had six floors. People were scared to go back.