Hyderabad:
The Andhra Pradesh government today put officials of nine coastal districts in the state on high alert following a major earthquake in Indonesia.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy directed collectors of the coastal districts in the state to take all precautionary measures and utilise the services of the armed forces, if required.
He asked the collectors to open control rooms and ask fishermen, who ventured into the sea, to return home immediately and also evacuate people from the beaches, a press release from the Chief Minister's Office said.
The Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Department opened a round-the-clock control room in the State Secretariat to monitor the situation.