Chennai jolted after 5.4 quake hits Bay of Bengal

According to the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System monitored by INCOIS, the tremors were recorded around 7.02 am.  The epicentre was at a depth of 10 km in the sea about 606 km from the city. S Balachandran, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, said, “The tremors were felt in North Andaman, Chennai and Port Blair. No tsunami alert has been issued in view of it.” According to some, the impact of the quake was felt more along the coast.

As the earthquake happened in the morning, there was no major panic among residents while several did not even notice the tremors. 

S Buvaneswari, a resident of Pallavaram said, “I felt the tremor in the early morning while engaged in household chores. The utensils rattled for a fraction of a second. Luckily, no harm was caused to anyone.” 

Harish R, another city resident, tweeted, “Strangely, I was near Marina Beach Bay of Bengal but didn’t feel the tremor in the morning! #Earthquake #Chennai”. 

Krishna Kumar, another resident, tweeted, “I was fast asleep.. Didn't feel anything.. The last time we felt a tremor in Chennai was more than 10 years back.” 

Earthquakes of varying intensity have been felt in parts of Tamil Nadu over the past 20 years.