NEW DELHI, 30 March 2005 — Tens of thousands in India began returning home yesterday after fleeing coastal areas when fear gripped villages overnight as television and radio broadcast tsunami warnings and officials hustled people from their beds following an earthquake off Indonesia.

Hours after the tsunami warnings were lifted, Indian officials said they were pleased with the speed with which the alert was sounded after a powerful undersea earthquake rumbled off Indonesia.

“Our machinery worked very well. We had alerted all the coastal states within 10 minutes. So many people were traumatized by the previous tsunami that they evacuated immediately,” said S.K. Swami, director of the government’s disaster management division.

India began work on an early warning system in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunamis, and though far from complete, yesterday morning’s alert was able to get to officials in eight coastal states before being called off four hours later, Swami said.

“The work on the system has already started. It can serve the whole region,” Swami said. Officials say a system will be in place across the Indian Ocean within 30 months.

Swami said most of those living along India’s southern shores that were battered by the December tsunamis quickly moved inland after the alert was sounded.

“Of course, we are thankful to God that the tsunami did not strike again,” Swami said.

“We spent a sleepless night on the road out there,” said fisherwoman Rani Selvam of Srinivasapuram fishermen hamlet in southern Tamil Nadu state, pointing to a road that looks down on her seaside shack.

Popular Marina Beach in the state capital Madras was calm yesterday morning, with joggers working out under the mild sun, children playing cricket and others taking walks. “We were lucky no tsunami happened. We were more than prepared this time. Since there was not even a murmur in the sea, people have got back to normal life,” said the state’s rural development secretary, Shanta Sheela Nair.

In neighboring Kerala, at least 30,000 people were evacuated. B. Srinivas, the chief bureaucrat in Kollam region of southern Kerala state, said: “There was no panic and people were evacuated quickly.”

Andaman Swings to Weeklong Bash to Forget Tsunami Blues

India’s tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar islands began a weeklong festival yesterday to lift the spirits of locals and tourists three months after the disaster.

The festival began hours after a massive quake off the Indonesian coast shook the archipelago and briefly sparked fears across the Indian Ocean of a fresh tsunami.

It includes a fashion show and video program and is scheduled to end April 3 with a “Solidarity Concert” sponsored by aid agency Oxfam, Indian Airlines and the Andaman Chambers of Commerce.

“These are aimed at helping the victims forget the harrowing experiences of Dec. 26,” said Rana Mathew, spokesman for the federally-ruled island chain.

“But it is now time to party...a time to forget the past...bring back a sense of normalcy and the feeling of solidarity with people who have lost everything,” Mathew said as tourists holidaying in the islands bought tickets for the event, which also aims to raise funds for survivors.