Cape Coast, Jan. 18, GNA - Fear stricken residents in Cape Coast and Elmina, poured out onto the streets in the early hours of Monday, after receiving calls from relatives and friends to stay off their homes because of an impending earthquake.

Some residents came out as early as 001 hours and stayed awake at the beachside, school parks and other plain fields. There was however public relief when there was a news item that the earthquake alert was a farce. When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) went round to sample the views of people, most of the respondents expressed joy that the earthquake did not occur. Some people said they were alerted about the impending disaster through text messages on their mobile phones and others on some local radio stations.

People could be heard praying to God to avert the quake. A public servant told the GNA on condition of anonymity that she was so scared that when her five-year old child asked to be taken indoors to attend to nature's call she refused to do so.

The Elmina-Cape Coast Highway was virtually empty because most commuters who obviously had sleepless night reported to their normal preoccupations late. Some members of the public appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation and the Ministry of Information to come out periodically to educate the public on natural disasters and what to do in case of any eventuality.