Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 27: A heaving human tide began to roll from coastal Kerala to interior towns tonight after a warning that another tsunami could slam ashore ?within an hour?.

Television channels, quoting the Met office, announced around 10.45 pm that ?another tsunami attack was likely to hit the coastal areas within one hour? and requested those living near the sea to evacuate.

The warning set off an unusual march in a state known for tranquillity ?thousands poured out into roads along the 575-km coastline and moved inland.

Some ran out with their children and whatever material possessions they could collect. The luckier ones got on to vehicles and sped away from the shores.

Coupled with the warning was another flash on a TV channel that a half-mile trough was noticed in the sea near Paravur, some 40 km north of the capital Thiruvananthapuram, and that the sea had begun to advance in the Kollam coastal areas.

Citing inputs from the Indian Meteorological Department, the director of the Centre for Earth Science Studies, M. Baba, said it was better to be cautious since no tsunami-specific studies were available.

TV visuals showed fisher folk in rags scampering along roads from Valiyathura, Poonthura and other coastal hamlets in Thiruvananthapuram. Such was the influx that officials were compelled to open government buildings to accommodate the people.

In several villages close to commercial capital Kochi, people did not know where to go and squatted on roads and bridges, preferring to sit out the night than remain confined to their unsafe dwellings.

The chaos set in as the tsunami-related toll climbed to 170 in the state.

The Karunagapally revenue subdivision in southern Kollam district reported 115 deaths while the low-lying, mineral-rich Alappad panchayat alone accounted for 100 casualties.

Fifty more bodies were recovered today from Kollam and Alappuzha districts.

The government dispensed with routine post-mortem procedures to facilitate quick funeral.