Madame Butterfly 0 Posted July 24, 2005 Updated: 02:13 PM EDT Tsunami Warning Posted for Indian Ocean After Quake India's Southern Nicobar Islands Rattled Earthquake Measuring at Least 7.0 NEW DELHI - A major earthquake of at least 7.0 magnitude hit India's southern Nicobar Islands on Sunday, prompting Thailand to issue a tsunami warning for the region devastated by December's earthquake and tsunami. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages. No tsunami has been reported. The islands are in the Indian Ocean between India and Thailand. The National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo., reported an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude hit near the Nicobar Islands. The quake was centered about 80 miles west of Misha, Nicobar Island. The earthquake was of magnitude 7.2, struck at 9:12 p.m. and was centered in Nicobar, said I. B. A. Rao, a duty officer in New Delhi's Meteorology Department. The quake also jolted the southern Indian state of Madras. "There is nothing to worry about," India's Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said. The region was the worst hit in India by the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed about 180,000 people in 11 countries. Thailand's warning was for the Indian Ocean. "There can be a local tsunami, but no such activity has been noticed in the region," said S. K. Bhatnagar, deputy director-general of India's Meteorology Department in New Delhi. Samir Acharya, head of a nongovernmental organization in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said: "Everything is fine. I haven't heard of any damage." "My driver ran up to my house and said some people had come out on the roads," said Acharya, who works with the Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology. 07-24-05 13:59 EDT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
