Earthquake in Chennai, Andaman Nicobar on Sunday Measuring 7.7
Chennai (June 13th): A mild tremor was felt in many parts of the city in the early hours of Sunday triggering panic among residents. Residents from many areas, including Koyambedu, Chintadripet, Thiruvanmiyur, Santhome, Choolaimedu, Royapettah and Aminjikarai reported tremor. It lasted for about 10-20 seconds.
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Many residents stayed outdoors for over an hour. Officials of Meteorological department said the earthquake measuring 7.7 Richter scale occurred off west coast of Nicobar islands around 12.57 a.m.
The earthquake struck early on Sunday morning off the Nicobar Islands, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 35 kilometres, and about 157 kilometres west-southwest of Misha in the Nicobar Islands and 445 kilometres northwest of Banda Aceh in Indonesia.
A tsunami watch was in effect for India, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
However, the centre cautioned that a “destructive widespread tsunami threat” did not exist, but rather there was a possibility of a “local tsunami” that could affect coasts located about 100 kilometres from the epicentre.
Several parts of Sri Lanka experienced tremors following the earthquake, according to the head of the country’s Geology and Mines Bureau, D Wijayananda.
Most of Sri Lanka’s western and southern coastal areas experienced the tremors, which lasted less than two minutes.
The powerful earthquake occurred at 1:26 a.m. on Sunday local time (1926 GMT on Saturday). The epicenter was some 150 km west of Mohean, Nicobar Islands, close to Indonesia’s Banda Aceh, with a distance of 440 km. The depth of the epicenter is 35 km.
Following the quake, the PTWC issued its tsunami warning, and a tsunami watch is in effect for India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. The center later downgraded the watch, saying only India is at risk.
In its evaluation, the PTWC says an earthquake this size has the potential to generate a destructive local tsunami and sometimes a destructive regional tsunami along coasts located usually no more than 1,000 km from the epicenter. Areas further than that could experience small sea level changes and strong or unusual coastal currents.
The Indian Ocean’s coasts were hit by a huge tsunami in 2004, in which hundreds of thousands perished.
