Chennai: Chennai's famed Marina Beach was evacuated on Sunday
after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia. In its wake, the Tamil Nadu Government has issued a tsunami alert. All shopkeepers on the beach have been
asked vacate the area. "We have advised people to close down their shops and they
are cooperating with us," said T. S Anbu, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Triplicane
Range, Chennai. Tourists said they were glad about the preventive advisory being
issued. "The police has taken charge of Marina Beach. The management is doing
a great work, I am very happy to see this," said Guddu, a tourist. Bus routes
have been diverted along the Marina Beach route. Around 500 police and Home Guards
personnel have been deployed on Marina Beach to stop people from visiting the
beach. On December 26, 2004, a giant tsunami waves, triggered off by a powerful
earthquake killed over 230,000 people across Asia and Africa. India was among
the most severely hit by the tsunami, with a death toll of over 7,400 in southern
Tamil Nadu alone. The tsunami also left over 1.8 million families homeless across
Asia.
