A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit off the Andaman Islands in eastern India, triggering a tsunami alert across the Indian Ocean, the US Geological Survey reported Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A massive magnitude 7.6 quake struck in the Indian Ocean off India's Andaman Islands, triggering a tsunami watch for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on Monday.
The USGS said the quake, initially reported as <b>a magnitude 7.7, was 20.6 miles deep and was centered 160 miles north of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands.</b>
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami watch for the region
<img src='http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2009/eq_090810_kdb2/neic_kdb2_cy.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/pager/...kdb2/index.html
MMI City Population
IV Bamboo Flat 7k
IV Port Blair 112k
IV Pathein 237k
IV Mawlamyinegyunn 39k
IV Bogale 68k
IV Wakema 42k
IV Pyapon 65k
IV Kyaiklat 52k
III Maubin 51k
III Twante 46k
Table of MMI estimates and populations for settlements falling within the map boundaries. The settlement name, location, and population are obtained from the freely-available GeoNames geographical database.
<b> Due to the magnitude of this earthquake, there is the risk of a tsunami in the Bay of Bengal.<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> Initial tide gauge readings do suggest a tsunami was generated by this earthquake</b>.</span> If you live in a coastal area PLEASE head inland or to higher ground. link
NEW DELHI: A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the Andaman Islands between India and Myanmar on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami alert across the Indian Ocean, the US Geological Survey reported.
The quake hit around 263 kilometres (163 miles) north of Port Blair, the main town in the Andamans, and was around 33 kilometres (20.2 miles) deep, said a USGS statement.
The epicenter was also around 364 kilometres (226 miles) southwest of the Irriwaddy Delta region of Myanmar which was devastated by a huge cyclone in May last year that left over 138,000 people dead.
The USGS said a tsunami watch had been issued for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.
India's Andaman Islands were hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami which was triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra and sent giant waves crashing into countries around the Indian Ocean.
The 2004 tsunami killed more than 220,000 people, most of them in the northern Indonesian province of Aceh. Thousands of people were also killed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and India.
<b>There was no immediate response from the authorities in India or Myanmar to the latest quake and tsunami alert.</b>
The quake appeared to be only around 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the main land mass of the Andaman Islands.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of India' most eastern pieces of territory. Over 350,000 people live in the territory flanked by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and it comprises some 572 islands.
The Andaman Sea area witnesses frequent earthquakes caused by the meeting of the Indian plate with the Burmese microplate along an area known as the Andaman trench.
This earthquake was felt widely in south Asia including in southern Myanmar. <b>Tremors were distinctly felt at Dhaka in Bangladesh, at Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Rourkela, Vishakhapatnam and other places in India as well as in Bhutan, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand</b>. If you felt either of these earthquake.
<b>An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale rocked parts of Assam, </b>other north-eastern States of India, West Bengal and neighbouring Bhutan on Monday afternoon causing damage to various properties in both the countries.
<b>The tremors were felt at 2.26 pm. No casualties were reported</b>.
The epicentre was plotted in Munggar in Bhutan. Munggar, about 500 km from Thimpu, is located along the India-Bhutan border, 125 km northwest of Guwahati.
Preliminary reports say cracks developed in apartments and concrete structures in Guwahati.
This is the fifth and the highest intensity earthquake to have rocked the northeast since Aug 13, according to the Regional Seismological Centre of Shillong.
The tremors were also felt in parts of West Bengal, including State capital Kolkata.
"We've received reports of mild tremors from different parts of the State. Our seismological cell is looking into the matter now," said an official of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata.
According to preliminary reports, the earthquake was felt in south Bengal districts, Malda and some parts of Darjeeling.
Munggar District Magistrate Sherab Tenzin said: "There have been no immediate reports of any loss of life or injuries but a number of houses, schools and other structures have been damaged. All these structures are made of mud and stones with tin roofs."
He said police and other rescue teams have been sent to the region to assess the damage. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>6.1</b>
Date-Time
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 08:53:05 UTC
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 02:53:05 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
27.351°N, 91.425°E
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region
BHUTAN
Distances
135 km (85 miles) NNW of<b> Gauhati, Assam, India</b>
180 km (110 miles) E of THIMPHU, Bhutan
610 km (380 miles) NNE of Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India
1410 km (870 miles) E of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
<b>4.8</b>
Date-Time
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 09:43:50 UTC
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 03:13:50 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
30.873°N, 79.050°E
Depth
43.6 km (27.1 miles)
Region
UTTARANCHAL, INDIA
Distances
115 km (70 miles) ENE of<b> Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal, India</b>
180 km (115 miles) E of Simla, Himachal Pradesh, India
190 km (115 miles) NNW of Haldwani, Uttaranchal, India
305 km (190 miles) NE of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
<b>5.2 Gauhati, Assam, India</b>
Date-Time
Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 17:00:38 UTC
Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 11:00:38 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
27.256°N, 91.380°E
Depth
26.5 km (16.5 miles)
Distances
125 km (75 miles) NNW of Gauhati, Assam, India
<b>Magnitude 5.4 - ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION</b>
2009 November 02 21:35:47 UTC
Date-Time
Monday, November 02, 2009 at 21:35:47 UTC
Tuesday, November 03, 2009 at 03:35:47 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
14.030°N, 93.109°E
Depth
32.4 km (20.1 miles)
Region
ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
Distances
265 km (165 miles) N of Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India
350 km (220 miles) SSW of Pathein (Bassein), Myanmar
800 km (495 miles) W of BANGKOK, Thailand
2295 km (1430 miles) SE of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
<b>Magnitude 6.0 - NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION</b>
2009 November 10 02:48:45 UTC
Date-Time
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 02:48:45 UTC
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 08:48:45 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
8.090°N, 91.881°E
Depth
10.8 km (6.7 miles) (poorly constrained)
Region
NICOBAR ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
Distances
165 km (100 miles) W of Misha, Nicobar Islands, India
405 km (250 miles) SSW of Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India
1125 km (700 miles) WSW of BANGKOK, Thailand
2745 km (1700 miles) SE of NEW DELHI, Delhi, India
<b>Magnitude 4.6 - ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA</b>
2009 November 17 17:39:39 UTC
Date-Time
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 17:39:39 UTC
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:09:39 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
27.682°N, 92.882°E
Depth
36.7 km (22.8 miles)
Region
ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA
Distances
97 km (60 miles) NW (312°) from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
202 km (125 miles) NE (34°) from Gauhati, Assam, India
203 km (126 miles) W (277°) from Dibrugahr, Assam, India
309 km (192 miles) E (86°) from THIMPHU, Bhutan
