Tremors were felt in some parts of Prakasam and Guntur districts on Wednesday morning. Panic-stricken people came out of their houses in some areas in Ongole, Maddipadu, Addanki, Chirala, Inkollu, Santamagaluru and Martur when household articles changed their places. The tremors in two spells of four and three seconds each were reported between 6.05 a.m. and 6.09 a.m., Prakasam in-charge Collector M. Hari Jawaharlal said.
There were no casualties or damage to property following the seismic activity, he added.
He allayed the fears of public saying that there was nothing to worry. People could get in touch with the control room at the Collectorate on telephone number 08592-281400 for any help. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) have set up a Global Positioning System (GPS)-based instrument at the C.S.R. Sarma College here to study the rate at which tectonic plate moves as the Ongole region comes under moderate damage risk zone. The Ongole region spread over 30 mandals, faced 12 earthquakes in the past 30 years, including two major ones in 1967 and 1959, with magnitudes of 5.4 and 5 on the Richter scale.
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Meanwhile, tremors were also felt in Guntur creating panic among residents of Yadavalli, Maddirala and Pothavaram villages in Chilakaluripet mandal. The tremors were believed to have passed from Martur mandal in Prakasam district where NGRI scientists recorded the intensity of tremors to be 4.1 on Richter scale.