Strong quake hits Andamans, tremors felt in many cities

Port Blair/Chennai, Aug 11 (PTI) A strong undersea
earthquake Tuesday shook Andaman islands and many cities in
southern and eastern India, causing widespread panic among the
people but there was no report of any casualty.

The 7.8 magnitude quake on the Richter scale struck at
1.26 am IST about 265 kms north of Port Blair, the Indian
Meteorological Department said, categorising the tremor as
"great".

While the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre had issued a
tsunami alert which was subsequently withdrawn, the Indian
Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue any warning. Indian
scientists were of the opinion that it related to a normal
fault and did not warrant any warning, Secretary, Ministry of
Earth Sciences, Shailesh Nayak said in New Delhi.

Tremors were felt in several places in Chennai,
Vijaywada, Kolkata, Ranchi and many areas in Orissa.

Though no casualty was reported from any part of the
Andaman region comprising North Andamans, Middle Andamans and
South Andamans, the quake brought back memories of the
devastating tsunami of December 2004. The latitude of the
quake was 14.1 degrees North and the longitude 93 degrees
East, the Met Department said.

At 6.20 am IST, an aftershock measuring 4.8 on the
Richter scale hit the islands. People came out running from
their houses especially in North and Middle Andamans and did
not return to their dwellings even three hours after the
tremor.

No report of damage or injury has been received from
any of the islands, S N Jha, Deputy Commissioner, Andaman
district and incharge of disaster management committee of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said.

Panic had also gripped coastal areas of the southern
city of Chennai, especially among fishermen, following reports
of a tsunami warning.

The fishermen moved out of their houses to safer
places and did not venture into the sea. However, once it was
clear that no Tsunami warning had been issued by Indian
authorities, the fishermen heaved a sigh of relief.

Residents of the harbour area, Anna Nagar, Mylapore,
Besant Nagar and Nungambakkam areas felt the tremors and
complaints of cracks in some houses were also received from a
few places.

Several parts of Orissa including Bhubaneshwar,
Cuttack, port town of Paradip, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara,
Puri, Bhadrak and Balasore were hit by the tremor. Panic-
struck people rushed out of their houses in many areas.

Mild tremors were also felt in Patamala Madhuranagar,
Singhnagar, Pakayapuram and Vambay colony in Vijaywada, Ranchi
and Kolkata. PTI