Fear gripped people of many tsunami-hit villages of Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu as water level in many tanks and ponds rose rapidly and bubbles emanated from them.
With the December 26 tsunami experience still afresh, a panic prevailed in most parts of the district.
"The abnormality might have been caused due to the earthquake that hit the northern parts of the country," official sources said.
The ripples and the increase in water level were noticed around 11 am in many water bodies, coinciding with the earthquake in north India. The abnormality continued for an hour, the sources said.
Soon the tsunami fears gripped the entire coastal area.
People were seen calling their relatives and conveying them about the situation, police said.
District Collector J Radhakrishnan, with an aim to allay fears, personally visited many villages and told the people that the abnormality might have been due to the earthquake in the northern part of the country.
He also convened a meeting of revenue officials and ordered the officials in the coastal villages to meet the people and tell them there was no need to panic and that no tsunami warning has been given.
However, fishermen were instructed not to venture into the sea.