All sound and no fury on the Marina Beach

CHENNAI: Marina Beach witnessed high drama following a tsunami alert, after an earthquake hit Sumatra at 2.08 pm on Wednesday. As a precautionary measure, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) battalions stationed in the State was alerted and two tsunami warnings had the city cops and a large media contingent on their toes for four hours filled with suspense.Around 3.30 pm, Additional Commissioner (Law and Order) P Thamaraikannan and Joint Commissioner S N Seshasai arrived at the Marina Beach with a large posse of police personnel to clear the area. Deserted SandsThe senior police officer said a total of 250 personnel, besides 12 mounted branch police, were deployed at the beach. Most shopkeepers shut business immediately after they felt tremors, however, police had to persuade visitors and a few shopkeepers to leave the place. One brave shopkeeper argued with a policeman: “I saw the tsunami last time; today it doesn’t look like the tidal wave will hit. I can’t afford to lose business.”  Vehicles were not allowed to use the service lane after the first tsunami alert came in.Media BlitzMedia teams began to descend on the Marina. Several teams, including this reporter, made a beeline for the lighthouse for a vantage view. Mediapersons atop the lighthouse experienced a tremor in the evening, triggering a mad dash to the ground. A second tsunami alert was issued at around 5 pm.Carnival AtmosphereAlthough the tremors brought painful memories of the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami, the atmosphere on the beach was like a carnival. Many stood around hoping to catch a glimpse of a huge wave.Lifting the Tsunami AlertA sudden surge in traffic hit movement of vehicles in arterial roads like Kamarajar Salai. At around 5.30 pm, three hours after the first tremor was felt, people were allowed to enter the service lane at the Marina even and policemen heaved a sigh of relief, as the tsunami alert was lifted. “Thank god the IPL match in the city is on Thursday and not today; it would have been chaos,” a policeman was heard saying.