HYDERABAD: A huge earthquake rocked Southeast Asia on Sunday morning, setting off tsunami tidal waves that killed around 300 people in Sri Lanka, and more than 74 people across the southern states of India.
In Chennai, the tremors started around 6.15 am and continued for several minutes. Tidal waves caused flooding in the city's central areas, with waters entering the police headquarters and causing a breakdown at a power station, causing power outage across the north part of the city.
Police cordoned off the beach in Chennai, a popular destination for tourists and city-dwellers who melted away once the tidal waves hit the area Sunday.
"The sea is very choppy, and the level has been rising dramatically, with waves as tall as 5 feet or more," said Sanjiv Shankaran,
a resident of Chennai.
"The sea has carried away boats and brought down huts and walls of buildings that were about 40-50 metres away," he said.
Sea water had also entered coastal towns of Nellore and Vishakhapatnam in southern Andhra Pradesh state, officials said.
The bodies of 10 fishermen were recovered from the shore in Machlipatnam district, 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of Madras, capital of Andhra Pradesh state, a district police official said.
