BALASORE: Panic gripped Balasore after news of wide cracks in ward no. 1 of the town spread like wild fire on Wednesday. Thousands of people rushed to the spot to have a glimpse of numerous fissures that were visible in an area of over a km with a width of two to three feet. People residing in the area were alerted after these fissures led to rumours of an imminent earthquake. Sources said, due to the wide cracks in the land, house of one Baidyanath Sethi has been completely damaged while three houses of Baidhar Majhi, Raju Behera and Nabin Majhi have developed cracks. If there is a landslide, it would cause damage to at least 40 families. With the cracks widening and increasing in length with each passing hour, people here got panicky. Assistant Soil Conservation Officer S.K. Mohanty, however, denied fissures being related to seismic activity. "Such incidents are more apparent in alluvial soil areas, close to rivers and streams," he said. Meanwhile, a team of engineers led by ADM Sribatsa Jena and Nilagiri Sub-Collector Khagendra Padhi visited the spot on Wednesday and asked people to vacate their houses. "The place is close to the Budhabalanga river. So fissures might be a result of the river's influence. We have sought the help of geologists and they would visit the spot to ascertain the exact cause," Jena said.