IMD issues Yellow alert for several Maharashtra districts for today
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Yellow alert for Friday in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Jalgaon…
An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 hit the Andaman Islands on Friday evening. No loss of life or damage to property was reported at the time of writing.
The earthquake occurred at 4.19 pm and lasted for 27 seconds. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the epicentre of the quake was 10 kilometres deep in the sea west of Andaman Islands.
United States Geological Survey (USGS) data shows that the epicentre is on the Sumatran fault line that separates the Indian Plate from the Burma Plate.
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The IMD said that the epicentre of the quake was adjacent to Little Andaman, which is about 21 nautical miles south of Rutland Island of the main group of Andaman islands.
This is the second major quake to have struck the region in just less than two months.
On 7 July, an earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale with an epicentre 70 km under the seabed struck about 80 km to the east of Campbell Bay of Nicobar.
Read More: Earthquake of magnitude 4.7 hits Great Nicobar Island
The quake came after a series of three earthquakes in less than 24 hours four days ago, with two measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale – both near Andaman Islands. The third, measured at 4.5 on the Richter scale, rocked Nicobar Island.
The epicentre of the quake recorded at Nicobar Island Region was on the same fault line on which the magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the Indian Ocean Region in 2004 triggering a tsunami that killed over 2 lakh people and displaced around 1.75 million people.
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