NAGAPPATTINAM, India -- Tens of thousands fled their homes Thursday, panicked by a false alarm that a new tsunami was about to hit following aftershocks in the Indian Ocean. India's science minister blamed the confusion on information from an American research group.
Tsunami warnings went out in southern India, Thailand and Sri Lanka, where millions are still traumatized by last weekend's devastating waves. India's warning said the wave could hit within an hour -- but hours later with no major waves, Science Minister Kapil Sibal said it was incorrect and dismissed fears of a new strike as "hogwash."
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Sibal, India's science minister, said the misinformation had come from a U.S. research group in Portland, Ore., called Terra Research. There is no telephone listing for Terra Research in Portland.
"(They) ... claimed they have some sensors and equipment through which they suggest there was a possibility of an earthquake," Sibal said at a televised press conference. "So, on the basis of this communication, for anyone to reach a conclusion that a tsunami will hit the eastern coast of India is unscientific, hogwash and should be discarded."
After an initial alert, Sri Lanka's military later told residents to be vigilant but not to panic, while coastal villagers climbed onto rooftops or sought high ground. "There is total confusion here," said Rohan Bandara in the coastal town of Tangalle.
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-india-tsunami-warning,0,187964.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
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