Tsunami alert: 'No harm done'

2005-07-25 09:05

New Delhi - There have been no reports of casualties or destruction following the powerful earthquake that hit India's Nicobar Islands and part of Indonesia on Sunday night, triggering a tsunami warning in Thailand.

The magnitude-7.2 earthquake late on Sunday night was felt in several parts of the zone struck by the December 26 quake-spawned Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed more than 178 000 people in 11 countries and left nearly 50 000 more missing, with most presumed dead.

Sunday night's quake jolted people from their sleep in Indonesia's Aceh province, and prompted residents of at least one coastal village in Sri Lanka to flee to a Buddhist temple on higher ground, fearing killer waves were on the way.

But no tsunami came, and no injuries or damage were reported after Sunday's scare.

Two moderate aftershocks of magnitude 5.3 and 5.7 hit the Nicobar Islands early on Monday just as people there started to return to their homes, said RS Dattatrayan, a spokesperson for India's meteorology department.

Epicentre

The epicentre of the quake was near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that lie between India and Thailand, according to New Delhi's meteorology department. The earthquake occurred 10 kilometres underground.

The quake also jolted southern India's Tamil Nadu state, where the December 26 tsunami killed more than 8 000 people. That disaster left 10 749 dead and another 5 640 missing and presumed dead in India.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a bulletin saying "earthquakes of this size sometime generate local tsunami that can be destructive along coasts located within a few hundred kilometres of the epicentre".

However, "authorities can assume the danger has passed if no tsunami waves are observed near the epicentre within an hour of the earthquake", the bulletin said.

Lifted

Near the islands, in Thailand - a country also hit hard by the December tragedy - authorities issued a tsunami warning for the Indian Ocean. However, it was lifted within hours.

Still, there was panic in some places.

"There is no harm done. But some people are panicking in the Andaman Islands. The sea is very rough. Yesterday and today we have witnessed a high tide," said Rashid Yusuf, president of the Nicobarese Youth Association.

There were few reports of fear or panic in other parts of Sri Lanka, where more than 32 000 people were killed seven months ago.

In Indonesia's Aceh province, where more than 131 000 people died on December 26, the earthquake jolted residents from their sleep and rattled their homes for about 10 seconds. Some stepped outside to check for damage, returning minutes later when none was found.

- AP