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A
moderate earthquake occurred in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast
of the union territory of Puducherry, on
25 September 2001 at 20:26 PM local time
resulting in three deaths and minor damage to property in
Puducherry and coastal Tamil Nadu. It had a magnitude of
Mw=5.5.
The earthquake
was centred 39.5
kilometres ESE of Kalapettai (Puducherry), India,
43.9 kilometres E of Puducherry (UT), India,
56.3 kilometres NE of Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu), India,
75 kilometres NE of Porto Novo (Tamil Nadu), India,
118 kilometres S of Chennai International Airport, Chennai (Tamil
Nadu), India,
140 kilometres NNE of Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu), India,
298 kilometres SE of Bengalooru Airport, Bengalooru (Karnataka),
India,
326 kilometres NE of Madurai (Tamil Nadu), India.
Three people died as a result of this earthquake. A 59-year old
woman, Indhira, died of cardiac arrest at Alandur Road, in
Saidapet, Chennai. Also in Chennai, a 15-year old student, K.
Parthasarathy suffered fatal head injuries after he fell while
running outdoors. In Thengaithittu village near
Modeliarpet, a 42 year old man, Elumalai, reportedly died of
cardiac arrest under the impact of the tremor and died.
The earthquake was
felt widely for close to 18-seconds in
eastern parts of the state of Tamil Nadu. The Union Territory of
Puducherry reportedly felt the strongest tremors and people
rushed out into the open when it hit, as houses and high-rise
buildings shook. No damage however, has been reported from here.
People also outdoors at Chengalpettu,
Cuddalore and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. Strong tremors
were felt in the Chennai
metropolitan area in Tamil Nadu.
It was also felt at Adyar, Ambattur,
Anna Nager, Anna Salai (Mount Road), Ayanavaram, Choolaimedu,
Cheyyur, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai,
Kodambakkam, Koothapakkam,
Mambalam, Mogappair, Mylapore, Nungambakkam, Porur,
Thiruvanmiyur, Triplicane, T.Nagar and Vadapalani. Most people
felt the earthquake and rushed out into
the open. Cars and trees were seen shaking due to the impact of
the quake. Some houses in north Chennai are said to have developed
cracks. Old buildings of the Slum Clearance Board and the Tamil
Nadu Housing Board developed cracks. Evening shoppers
at Spencer Plaza on Anna Salai, dropped
their shopping bags and fled into the open and
some cracks developed in the 7-storey
building. A residential building on Natesan Street in
Triplicane developed cracks while in
Besant Nagar, household articles were knocked from tables and
shelves. Nursing staff, doctors, pregnant women and women with
new-born babies along with their
relatives at the Government Hospital for Women and Children at
Egmore, rushed outside. At a hospital in Kodambakkam, patients ran
outside in panic after reportedly pulling out intravenous drips.
People also rushed out of the Child's Trust Hospital in
Nungambakkam. Staff at 'chennaionline.com'
in T Nagar, ran down 4-storeys when they
felt the tremor. It was also felt in the I.I.T.
Chennai campus, strong enough to send
everyone outdoors. The power supply failed
in the Adyar area following the quake and telephone
lines were temporarily down in Tambaram as well
as in some areas on the outskirts of Chennai. The delta
taxiway to the main runway at Chennai
International Airport is also thought to
have developed cracks. Three flights due around that time;
Air Lanka from Colombo, Air India from Singapore and Jet Airways
from Bengalooru were allowed to land only after runway checks.
Various parts of the state of Karnataka also felt a light tremor.
In Bengalooru, the earthquake was felt
Basavanagudi, Jalahalli West, Jayanagar, J.P. Nagar, I.T.I.
Factory, M.G.Road, Old Madras Road and Shivajinagar. Window panes
rattled violently in many parts of the city. One report stated
that suspended objects were slightly disturbed. People also came
out into the open in these areas. But other areas of Bengalooru
like Banashankari, Basaweshwarnagar, Nagarbhavi, Nandini Layout
and Vijayanagar, did not experience the quake. Mild tremors were
also felt in other parts of Karnataka at Dod Ballapur, Kolar and
Mangalooru. Light tremors were also felt
in Chittoor and Tirupati, in the state of Andhra Pradesh for 10 -
15 seconds.
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