Anger over false tsunami alarm

AUTHORITIES in Haute-Corse have defended a decision to evacuate parts of the Corsican city of Bastia, after an error calculating the magnitude of an earthquake off the Greek coast triggered a tsunami alert.

A tremor near Crete at shortly before 8.30pm yesterday was reported to have a magnitude of 6.1. It prompted authorities in Corsica to evacuate parts of the port of Toga, the Vieux Port and the Port de Commerce at 9pm, when restaurants in the area were serving evening meals.

The quake’s epicentre was about 20 km below the surface of the sea, 50 km from where the African and Eurasian plates meet, according to the US Geological Survey.

A 6.1-magnitude tremor could lead to sea levels around the area of Corsica to rise enough to cause “significant damage”.

But restaurateurs in the area, whose establishments were evacuated reacted with anger after the alert was lifted an hour later when the Euro-Mediterranean Seismic Centre reclassified the quake as having a magnitude of 4.9, a level which posed no risk of a damaging tsunami hitting Corsica.

The Prefecture said that the evacuation was prompted after the initial warning, which included an error in calculating the magnitude of the tremor.

Photo: loran