GUNTUR: Locals of Piduguralla town panicked after they experienced mild tremors thrice in a span of just 30 minutes on Saturday, forcing them to rush out of their houses and look for open grounds.

The first tremor was experienced at 3.50 pm, while the other two hit the town by 4.15 pm. The residents feared that more tremors might take place later in the night. Piduguralla is a prominent lime stone quarrying area in Guntur and the shocks were experienced at Lenin Nagar, Mahaveer Nagar, Pathagadda and Cheruvu Katta.

G Venkateswara Rao, a local, said, “Each tremor lasted for about five seconds. Within 30 minutes, three mild tremors hit the quarrying area of the town.” Piduguralla Tahsildar Ravi Babu, rural CI MV Subba Rao and other officials inspected the affected colonies and interacted with those who experienced the shakes.