Thousands evacuated in India
2005-03-11 14:43
Trivandrum - Indian police said on Friday that thousands of villagers were evacuated after a surge of sea water in southern Kerala state, which was lashed by the December 26 tsunamis.
Sea water crashed into Vypeen island and then swept into the coastal villages of Edavanakkad, Puthu Vype and Chappa in Kerala's Ernakulam district, according to police.
The local meteorological department said the sudden surge of water was caused by high tides.
"Police helped district authorities evacuate between 8 000 and 10 000 people living in high-risk areas as water gushed into Ernakulam's coastal villages just before dawn on Friday," local police chief R Srelekha said by telephone.
"The water has started receding but people have been asked not to go out in their fishing boats as the sea still looks dangerous. In any case most people are too scared to think of taking any chances as the tsunami is fresh in their mind," he added.
Some 10 273 people died while 5 823 were missing since December 26 when towering waves slammed into the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in the Indian Ocean.