The powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.6 occurred off the west coast of norther Sumathra at 1408 hours this afternoon, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) Chief Scientist and Head of Sesimology Observatory D Sri Nagesh said today.
Talking to UNI here, he said the earthquake occurred in the first 20 km of the earth’s crust.
He said the quake is classified as a ‘great earthquake’ and that is the reason why people even about 2000 km away from the epicentre also felt the quake all along the east coast in India.
When asked about the tremors felt in some cities and towns in Andhra Pradesh, Mr Nagesh said the tremors were experienced right from Visakhapatnam to Nellore for a few seconds.
The NGRI Chief Scientist also said the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has sounded Tsunami alert in the coastal regions of the state.
However, later reports said there was no danger of tsunami hitting the coasts. UN
