By IANS,
New Delhi/Chennai : A “local tsunami alert” was issued for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Friday after the region was rocked by an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale. There have been no reports of loss of life or property from the Andamans or any other part of the country.
The alert was issued by the Indian Tsunami Warning System, set up after the 2004 tsunami that killed about 10,000 people in India.
“We have issued a local alert in the Andamans. But I don’t think there is any point to get panicky,” A.K. Shukla, a senior seismologist with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), told IANS.
“The epicentre was felt inside the ocean belly,” he added, describing it as a moderate earthquake.
The tremor was felt around 5.10 p.m. The epicentre was about 140 km southwest off the coast of Port Blair.
“We have received information about tremors being felt in the Andamans and in parts of Chennai,” Shukla said.
According to him, a tremor with a magnitude of not less than 8 on the Richter scale is a potential tsunami generator but the IMD was not taking the current temblor lightly.