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The epicentre of the 7.6 quake was just off the Andaman Islands (India) coast - Source: ONE News -
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A major quake of magnitude 7.6 struck in the Indian Ocean off
India's Andaman Islands, triggering a tsunami alert for India,
Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.
However, more than two hours after the quake there were no reports
of a tsunami from ocean rim countries and the tsunami watch was
cancelled.
"We all ran out as fast as possible and have not gone back inside,
fearing another quake. Everything was shaking, we are all very,
very scared," Subhasis Paul, who runs a provision store in Diglipur
island in North Andaman, said.
"People are calling each other out of their homes and everyone is
huddled together outside," Paul said from Diglipur, about 300 km
north of Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The US Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a
magnitude 7.7, struck at 1:55 am local time.
It was shallow, at a depth of 33 km, and was centred 260 km
north of Port Blair.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for the region.
"Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a
destructive local tsunami and sometimes a destructive regional
tsunami along coasts located usually no more than 1,000 kilometres
from the earthquake epicentre," the tsunami centre said in its
bulletin.
However, an official at the Indian National Centre for Ocean
Information Services said a tsunami warning had not been issued by
his department.
"We have not issued a tsunami alert and are monitoring the water
level changes in the region at the moment," Ajay Kumar said.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a chain of small islands
hundreds of miles east of India in the Indian Ocean.
A 7.6 magnitude quake is classified by the USGS as a major
earthquake and is capable of widespread, heavy damage.
An even bigger quake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 caused a tsunami
that killed some 228,000 people.
No sign of tsunami so far
"I was on the balcony, and felt very strange for a while, like my
chair was leaning to one side," said Reuters correspondent Martin
Petty in Bangkok.
"So I got out of there sharpish. Aftershocks went on for a good
few minutes."
In Indonesia, a meteorology agency official said his agency was
monitoring the Aceh area on the tip of Sumatra, but so far there
had been no reports of a tsunami.
"I was waken up by the jolt," said Kyaw Min, a resident of Yangon
in Myanmar, adding that the water was swishing around in his
bathroom tank due to the quake.
In the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, officials said there was no
news of any immediate loss of life or damage.
"We have patrol parties everywhere possible and everything appears
normal. We are asking people not to panic and return to their
homes," P Karunakaran, a police superintendent in charge of the
North and Middle Andaman region said.
"Experts are monitoring the situation and have not issued a tsunami
alert," Karunakaran said from Mayabandar, about 270 km north of
Port Blair.
