An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale shook parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Tuesday night leaving two persons injured but there was no report of any death or damage.
The quake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale in Bhubaneshwar, jolted coastal areas of Orissa, bringing panic-stricken people in some areas out of their houses.
“The epicentre of the earthquake was located at Landfall Island, 240 km north of Port Blair. The earthquake shook parts of Andaman Islands but no tsunami alert was sounded,” Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman S N Jha told PTI .
Chief Secretary Vivek Roy said two persons were injured when they fell from the roof of a house in north Andaman. The tremors were felt in middle and north Andaman, he added.
Authorities of North Andaman and defence have been alerted, he said. Officials of Disaster Management Control Room said the earthquake struck the archipelago at about 10.24 pm.
Jha said people living in Diglipur in Andaman Islands came out of their residences in panic but no reports of damage was reported from any part of the archipelago.
A Bhubaneshwar report quoting the local met office said the tremor was recorded around 10.25 pm.
People in some places, including Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur rushed out of their houses and many residents in Cuttack and Jagatsinghpur spent quite sometime in the open fearing after shocks.