Earthquake of magnitude 6.07 strikes India's Andaman Islands
A powerful earthquake struck India’s Andaman Islands early Sunday, triggering mild panic but causing no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials said.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake measured 6.07 in magnitude and struck at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) beneath the Andaman Sea. However, India’s National Center for Seismology (NCS) reported a slightly lower magnitude of 5.4 with a depth of 90 kilometers, while the United States Geological Survey (USGS) registered it at 5.5 on the Richter scale.
The tremors were felt across parts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, prompting residents to rush outdoors as buildings briefly swayed. Authorities said there was no tsunami threat following the quake, a statement later confirmed by Malaysia’s Meteorological Department.
Seismologists noted that the quake’s depth helped minimize the potential for severe damage. Shallow earthquakes, however, are often considered more dangerous because seismic waves travel shorter distances to the surface, producing stronger shaking.
The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, located at the junction of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates, lies within Seismic Zone V—the country’s highest earthquake risk category. The region is among the most seismically active belts in the world, with frequent tremors recorded along the subduction zone where the Indian Plate meets the Sunda Plate.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences has warned that the area remains vulnerable to large-magnitude quakes, similar to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which originated near Sumatra and caused a catastrophic tsunami across South and Southeast Asia.
Authorities said the NCS and the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre in Hyderabad continue to monitor aftershocks closely, though no significant secondary tremors had been detected as of Sunday evening.
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