KOTA KINABALU: Police have advised the public not to believe rumours about large numbers of seashells being washed ashore in Putatan, signaling a tsunami may hit the state.
City police chief ACP Ahmad Sofi Zakaria said there was no truth in the rumours, which were spread widely through short messaging system (SMS) and Internet yesterday.
“The public should first contact the Meteorological Department or other relevant authorities about the rumours, and not simply believe them,” he said.
Sofi said that normally the Meteorological Department would issue a warning pertaining to bad weather to the relevant authorities before it is channelled to the public.
“In this case, those who spread the SMS rumours are not the authority and you should not believe them,” he said.
The SMS text stated that seashells have surfaced along the coast of Putatan and it is the animal reaction to an impending disaster.
“These seashells always hide beneath the sand. For them to surface is an unusual and unnatural thing. This is just like the incident earlier this week where Californian coast is flooded with dead tuna fish washed ashore. Pls pass this msg so we could all do our bit to pray!”
These rumours were also spread through Facebook.
Yesterday, a survey of the shore at Putatan, near Meruntum, did not show any seashells as claimed.