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Earth tremor felt around Trincomalee lagoon
View(s):A minor earth tremor measuring 3.5 on the Richter Scale was felt in and around the Trincomalee lagoon, Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) Director General Dr C H E R Siriwardana said yesterday. He said the tremor occurred at a depth of 6.4km.
He explained that the thick sediment profile at the lower regions of the Mahaweli River estuary did not see any disturbance due to the tremor. Dr Siriwardena said that they were concerned a stronger tremor would upset sediment. If this were to occur, houses erected near the area can be affected.
GSMB Trincomalee officer Anoma Priyadharshani Wijeratne experienced the tremor. At the time, she was asleep at her quarters near Kinniya Road, which is 300 metres from the lagoon. She was awakened around 12.30 am by a loud sound and a slight tremor.
“The sound felt like someone was running on top of the roof,” she said. She had checked with her neighbours, who had also experienced the same. “I thought this might have been an earthquake, and remained awake expecting aftershocks, but nothing happened,” she said.
Ms Wijeratne said that when she arrived at the office on Saturday morning, the tsunami detection towers and equipment had reported the earthquake.
GSMB officers are investigating the distances at which people felt the tremor. Reports have come in from Marble Beach and Kanthale town, which is 35km away from the probable epicentre. The GSMB is calculating the distance the tremor traveled.