Minister says fishermen are safe

Visakhapatnam, December 26, 2004

Fishermen who went into the sea for fishing are safe. Of the 600 boats which went for fishing, nearly 500 returned to the shore safely. According to the Minister for Commercial Taxes, Konatala Ramakrishna, no casualty has been reported in the tidal wave that followed the tremors in the city. Nearly 350 families living at Jalaripeta have been evacuated to AS Raja College as a precautionary measure and provided relief. The District Collector, Praveen Prakash has taken timely action and geared up the administration.

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More Tidal waves likely

Visakhapatnam, December 26, 2004

A severe earthquake occurred on Sunday morning at west of Sumatra Island in Indian Ocean with a magnitude of 8.5 on Richter scale according to a special weather bulletin issued by the Cyclone Warning Centre. Subsequently a few more earthquakes occurred extending upto Andaman Islands with intensify ranging between six and seven on Richer Scale. Under its influence, tidal waves of three to five meters are likely along and off the coastal Andhra during the next 36 hours. Fishermen are advised not venture to go into the sea. The Revenue Minister, Dharmana Prasada Rao on Sunday announced some top officers to supervise rescue, relief and rehabilitation work in the tidal wave hit areas Nellore, Krishna and Guntur districts. A Control room was set up at the Secretariat with four IAS officers for monitoring the situation. Information can be had on helpline 234560005.

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Helicopters deployed for rescue operations

Visakhapatnam, December 26, 2004

The Navy and the Coast Guard launched a full fledged search and rescue operation immediately on receipt of an SOS message from the State Government. Naval ships and aircraft of Eastern Naval Command were deployed to undertake relief and rescue operations following the severe earthquake that occurred on Sunday morning near Sumatra Islands. The Maritime Operations Centre at the headquarters of the ENC geared up fully to handle various contingencies which were resulting due to the devasting quake and accompanying tidal waves. The ENC administration is closely monitoring the situation. A representative of the civil administration embarked on the helicopter for liaison duty and surveillance off Nellore according to the Coast Guard Commanding Officer KA Subramanyam.

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