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Loud pre-dawn tremor shakes Achchuveli
View(s):A minor tremor was felt at Achchuveli in the Nawakiri areas of Jaffna yesterday morning, leaving cracks in lands, houses and wells, residents and officials said. Residents said that they experienced a vibration with a loud noise around 2 a.m. National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) Research and Risk Management Division head R.M.S Bandara told the Sunday Times that this could be a minor tremor and the NBRO was carrying out investigations to identify the cause.
“We are focusing on the possibility of extraction of a huge volume of water from underground sources. An industrial zone and an agriculture zone are located in this area,” he said. Explaining that the underground soil consisting of limestone could break down due to its dryness, Mr. Bandara said there could be a sudden drop of soil mass and this might have led to the tremor.
Following the tremor, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) officials in Jaffna alerted the head office with photos and Google maps to assist in their investigations. NBRO and DMC officials were in the area yesterday for a full probe.
Area resident Subramaniam Tharmasekaram said he felt the land shaking and heard a loud noise. After dawn, he noticed cracks in his house and surrounding land. He said that when he first saw the crack in the morning, it was not big, but after six hours it widened to about five inches.