An earthquake of 7.5 magnitude has hit near India’s Nicobar Islands, in the Indian Ocean.
The US Geological Survey said it occurred about 150km (95 miles) west of the Nicobar Islands and 440km from Sumatra, Indonesia.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued a warning for the entire Indian Ocean region.
The agency later downgraded the warning to India only, before cancelling the alert altogether.
“Sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not generated,” the Hawaii-based centre said.
No damage was reported in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, although a total blackout sparked panic in the capital, Port Blair, witnesses said.
More than 350,000 people live on nearly 600 islands in the remote archipelago.
In 2004, a powerful earthquake off Sumatra’s coast triggered a tsunami that killed more than 220,000 people around the rim of the Indian Ocean.
7.5 magnitude earthquake hits
The Philippines is right next to the edge of the pacific and Indian oceans. As such, I keep a close eye on earthquakes in the region. I was quite shocked to see an earthquake as strong as this. Normally they range between 4 and 6 magnitude.
USGS stats of the earthquake can be found here.
The following details about the earthquake are taken from the BBC News website
Absolutely terrifying I felt it in missisauga
Hello, pleased to hear you are well, but the earthquake I was posting about was in or close to the Philippines, not Canada. I heard about the earthquake in Canada. There are earthquakes all over the world recently. Still, I am pleased you are ok after experiencing the quake.
All the best
5uperman