VietNamNet Bridge – At around 9pm of September 3, hundreds of people in coastal communes of the central province of Quang Ngai hurriedly fled away to nearby mountains and Quang Ngai city to avoid a tsunami. They returned home at around 1am because there was no tsunami.

The incident occurred in the three communes of Tinh Ky, Nghia An and Duc Loi of Quang Ngai province.

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Tien, Chair of Tinh Ky commune, the false rumor of tsunami spread from Nghia An and Duc Loi communes to Tinh Ky. Many locals got panicky. They quickly packed up food and clothes to evacuate from their home to avoid tsunami.

”We mobilized all forces to prevent and explain about the false rumor to local residents and ask them to return home,” Tien said.

Local authorities are investigating the source of the false rumors, which caused turmoil in the region.

According to an initial investigation, the false rumor of tsunami originated from consecutive quakes in the area around the Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant in the neighboring province of Quang Nam on the same night.

Up to six quakes happened continuously around Song Tranh 2 hydro-power plant on the evening of September 3, reported the Geo-physic Institute. The strongest quake was measured at 4.2 on the Richter scale. The remaining quakes were less than 2 Richter.

The institute also reported that since early 2012, up to 40 quakes were recorded in Quang Nam Province.

On August 29, a tsunami resistance rehearsal was held in Duc Pho district of Quang Ngai province.

Compiled by Le Na