Chennai Earthquake and tsunami updates|India News
6:40 PM Small waves about half-a-metre high and within normal tide limits had already washed into the Campbell Bay area on the Great Nicobar island, the official said.
6:39 PM Six teams of National Disaster Response Force were also
kept in readiness at Chennai and an equal number moved to Hindon airport in the national capital.
6:12 PM Indonesia Disaster Agency says major quakes produced only small tsunami waves because of horizontal plate movement - Reuters
6:07 PM Indonesia's disaster agency says 1 metre tsunamis detected in Nias island off southern Sumatra and Meulaboh in Aceh - Reuters
6:00 PM Andaman update: Few thousand people were evacuated to higher ground. Kudankulam nuke plant is absolutely safe as it is 7.5 m above the coast - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services.
5:59 PM Tsunami Watch Lifted For Thailand, Myanmar, Australia, Malaysia - US Monitoring Agency
5:52 PM Aftershocks measuring 5.4 hits Indonesia according to USGS. Kenya issues tsunami warning along Indian Ocean coastline after Indonesia quake - Reuters
5:50 PM All Indians staying in Thailand's Phuket island have been alerted by the Indian High Commission here following the massive earthquake of 8.7 magnitude that hit waters off Indonesia triggering tsunami fears across the Indian Ocean nations.
5:49 Metro services in Kolkata were shut down for nearly 50 minutes as a precautionary measure. The services were suspended from 2.42 PM to 3.30 PM, Deputy General Manager (general) of Metro Railway, Pratyush Sinha said.
5:46 PM; Kerala: The dam sites and in the state were also under observation as there had been reports of waves having occurred in some of the reservoirs. People in various parts of Kerala, including the state capital and Kochi, experienced mild tremors in the wake of the Indonesian quake.
5:45 PM; Maharashtra: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said there was no tsunami threat in Mumbai. Talking to reporters, Chavan said an alert has been received from Hyderabad-based centre for National tsunami warning as a precaution - PTI
5:43 PM Aftershock measuring 5.4 hits Indonesia
5:37 PM The chief secretary of the Andaman and Nicobar administration, Shakti Sinha, said waves 30 cm high have been witnessed in the Campbell Bay which is closer to Indonesia. He said people there have been asked to come out of their houses as the tsunami alert is still on.
5:34 PM Home secretary RK Singh: We have asked for evacuation in South Andaman.
5:28 PM; PTI IAF sending two planes with 80 NDRF personnel and five tonnes of relief material to Port Blair: IAF sources.
5:22 PM CNN-IBN's Priyanka Gupta in Kolkata: Reports of another earthquake have triggered panic again. A Kolkata woman said: "We saw buildings being evacuated. Right now we are too scared to go back to the building."
Another woman in Kolkata woman: We're not going home for now. We don't know how long we should stay outside.
Priyanka: Lots of confusion among people here. Life was going back to normal in this city, but the second earthquake has made people more anxious.
5:21 PM Reuters: US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center doesn't expect "damage basin wide" across Indian Ocean
5:20 Reuters: Andaman and Nicobar Islands could see waves up to 3.9 metres high following Indonesian quakes - Disaster official
5:02 PM BBC eye witness in Kolkata: "There was a tremor felt by all of us working in the building," a man called Vincent in Kolkata told the BBC. "All just ran out of the building and people were asked not to use the elevator. There was a minute of chaos where all started ringing up to their family and asking about their well-being."
5:00 PM Eye witness in Banda Aceh: It wasn't the strongest quake I've felt," said 22-year-old Tuti Rahmi, while trying to reach her brother by phone from Banda Aceh, people around her crying and screaming as they poured from their homes. "But it seemed to last forever," she said, adding the ground shook for nearly four minutes.
4:54; Bangalore Hundreds of office workers in Bangalore left their buildings while the Chennai port closed down because of the danger of a tsunami, port officials said.
The quake was in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake which was at a depth of 30 km along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal.
4:52 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has asked the district collectors and SP's of all coastal districts to be on alert and shift public to safer areas.
4:51 Reuters: Indonesia's port in Banda Aceh remained open after the 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck, while Chennai port shut due to a tsunami watch issued for the whole Indian Ocean, two port authority officials said.
4:47 PM PTI: Operations at Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) in Kalpakkam near continued to function normally, even as coastal areas in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh has been put on alert following a massive quake hitting Indonesia. "We were to halt operations following the Tsunami alert. But, after checking with authorities in Andamans, we continued with the operations at the plant," K Ramamurthy, Station Director, MAPS.
4:39 CNN-IBN's Palki: NDRS team on alert on the east coast of India. Phuket another area of worry where a lot of Indians are. Fishermen remain the biggest challenge for the Indian authorities.
Prof Sitaraman, Indian Institute of Science: All earthquakes of such magnitude do not trigger a tsunami, hence the low warning. If you look at the Pacific tsunami warnings, there are already alerts in Thailand, Sri Lanka and other countries. The movement of waves depends on the geology of the area. It may subside over a period of time. Aftershocks might happen. There is also no record of an earthquake in India. Now India has a tsunami warning system after 2004 and we must be on alert. People must remain on alert unless it is withdrawn by the government. Ignorance of people must be checked so that they behave in a safe manner. Lifts in high buildings should be avoided at all cost. People who have reached higher grounds should stay there for the night if possible. They must leave only after the government has withdrawn the alert.
4:34 PM USGS: Another earthquake in Indonesia of 8.2 on Richter scale off the west coast of Northern Sumatra.
4:31 PM Reuters reports a magnitude 8.6 earthquake off Indonesia coast at 6.2 miles depth quoting USGS
4:21 PTI: Govt evacuates some people from South Andaman as a precautionary measure: sources
4:20 Fresh tremors felt in South and East of India.
4:19 PMPTI: No cause for panic along India's coastline. Government is ready to deal with any eventuality: Union Home Secretary R K Singh.
4:18 Cabinet secretary to CNN-IBN: PM has issued instructions to take all preacuations. There is no need to panic, if fishermen are on high seas there is no need to panic.
Ajit Kumar Seth, Cabinet Secy: As per reports the quake has not created a Tsunami wave. Maximum wave height generated in Andaman Nicobar is 30 cm.
4:15 PM; CNN: Tsunami watch for the entire Indian ocean. 8.7 earthquake is a big deal, the likes of which we saw in Japan recently and back in 2004 in the same areas. Epicentre 431 kms away from Banda Aceh which is too close to the northern coast of Sumatra island. The tsunami must have reached that area by now.
4:14 PM: NDMA scales down the tsunami threat. No threat in Indian Ocean.
Kolkata Metro resumes services.
Meenakshi Mahadevan from Chennai: Some people reaching Marina Beach now. Sea doesn’t look threatening right now. Met sending constant alerts.
4:09 PM Prathibha from Chennai: Local channels reporting a tsunami likely to hit Chennai coast at 5 pm. Police clearing the area.
CNN-IBN's Palki: Reports that water receding along the coast of Phuket, which is a cause of worry.
In West Bengal: Tremors were also felt in North 24 Parganas adjoining Kolkata and in the north Bengal town of Siliguri, officials said. According to reports, some buildings on Park street in the metropolis developed cracks. Metro Rail services in the city were suspended from 2:42 PM and passengers were asked to vacate stations. Officials in the Seismological Centre here said the epicentre of the high intensity earthquake was on the west coast of northern Sumatra.
Response: Union Home Secretary R K Singh speaks to Chief Secretary of all coastal states. David Cameron tells Indonesian president he's "hugely concerned" by earthquake off Aceh and UK "stands ready to help". Tsunami "less likely" because earthquake off Indonesia moved horizontally, not vertically, USGS spokesman tells BBC.
In Andaman and Nicobar Islands: No waves noticed so far in Andaman and Nicobar Islands; tsunami virtually ruled out, says NDMA vice president Sasidhra Reddy.
Expert on Tsunami: One expert told the BBC the quake as a "strike-slip" fault, meaning a more horizontal shift of the ground under the sea as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, and less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami.
Alert for 28 countries: The Pacific tsunami warning centre has said that the tsunami alert for 28 countries remains in effect, and has also said that a 17cm wave is heading towards Aceh, which is not very large. However the speed of the wave is not yet known.
Celeb Tweets: Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt ?tweeted: "Pooja is in Phuket scouting locations for Jism 2. She just called saying that the Tsunami is about to hit Phuket. The Occean is receding."
4:08 PM; Dakshina from Thiruvananthapuram: Disaster management teams ready to face any eventuality. There is technology to get in touch with the fishermen. Means being tried to contact them at the earliest.
4:08 PM; Indian embassy in Bangkok: The Indian embassy in Bangkok is on high alert. Bangkok is a popular tourist destination for Indians. India issues tsunami warning for Nicobar islands.
4:05 PM; CNN-IBN's Priyanka Gupta from Kolkata: Substantial length of coast in WB. Official at Haldia confirmed the facilities on alert. Concern for fishermen already at sea. No way of knowing for those fishermen about the tsunami alert. Metro shut down, passengers evacuated. IT centre in Kolkata evacuated. Fishermen remain the biggest worry for the government.
4:04 PM; CNN-IBN's Dakshina Muraleedharan from Kerala: Immediate reaction of people was to run down from highrises and some panic. Coastal police trying to get in touch with fishermen to warn them of the tsunami. The memories of the 2004 tsunami still fresh in many people's minds in Kerala. The Met dept is telling people not to panic. Officials are busy asking people to be on alert and not panic. The government is gearing up for any eventuality.
4:02 PM; CNN-IBN's Prathibha Parameswaran from Chennai: No measures taken yet, except for the warning. Coastal TN on high alert but no evacuations so far. Earthquake lasted a few seconds. No property damage reported so far. People on the watch. Most fishing happens during mornings or evenings. A warning for safety measures has been issued.
4:01 PM; Low connectivity in Indonesia: Very low telephone connectivity in Indonesia. Almost no communication with people there. No damage due to earthquake, but the bigger worry is the tsunami now. High tsunami alert in Sri Lanka as well.
4:00 PM; RS Dattatrey, Director Siesmology, IMD: People should remain careful, especially in Kolkata and the eastern coastal areas of India. Tsunami may reach Indian coast in 30 minutes.
3:56; No casualty in Aceh: Indonesia's President says no reports of casualties or damage from quake in Aceh.
3:55 PM; In Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, where two tremors were felt, authorities also said there appeared to be no threat of a tsunami.
3:50 PM; In Sri Lanka: Wednesday's quake was also felt in Sri Lanka, where office workers in the capital, Colombo, fled their offices, and the southern Thai holiday island of Phuket, both of which were hit hard by the 2004 tsunami.
At 3:45 PM - Damage in Indonesia: Indonesia's disaster management agency said power was down in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger. "The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. Sirens and Koran recitals from mosques are everywhere," said Sutopo, spokesman for the agency.
At 3:40 PM: Mumbai tremors: There were reports of tremors being felt in some parts of north Mumbai but the Met department said these could not be verified so far.
At 3:30 PM: An earthquake measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale was recorded in the Arabia Sea, the Met office said. The shock registered at 18.6 degree latitude and 71.3 degree longitude in the Arabian Sea," Met department director Rajeev Nair said. The epicentre was 155 km from Mumbai, he said.
At 2:40 PM: Coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman islands also put on alert following Sumatra quake.
At 2:34: US Geological Survey said the quake was centred 33 kilometres beneath the ocean floor around 495 kilometres from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
At 2:17 PM: Indonesia's geophysical agency says earthquake of 8.9 on Richter scale off Aceh, issues tsunami warning. Indian ocean-wide Tsunami watch in effect - Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
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