Port Blair, Nov. 9: A mild panic rippled through parts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Sunday afternoon as tremors from a moderate earthquake shook the region. The quake, measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale, struck the Andaman Sea at around 12:08 p.m., officials confirmed.
The epicentre was located about 96 kilometres north of Barren Island, India’s only active volcano, at a depth of nearly 90 kilometres beneath the sea. The shocks were felt in Mayabunder, Rangat, and adjoining areas of North and Middle Andaman, though no loss of life or property damage has been reported so far.
Confirming the development, Chief Secretary Dr. Chandra Bhushan Kumar said that all agencies had been placed on alert and standard response protocols were activated immediately after the tremors. “As a precautionary measure, we have advised tourists and fishermen not to venture into the sea,” he said.
According to the National Center for Seismology, the seismic activity was of tectonic origin, consistent with the region’s position along the Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt—one of the most earthquake-prone zones in the world.
Officials at the District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC), Port Blair, said that teams across the islands were monitoring the situation closely and maintaining constant communication with local authorities.
Barren Island, which lies roughly 140 km northeast of Port Blair, sits near the junction of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates, an area known for frequent seismic activity.
While Sunday’s quake caused no visible damage, experts say the incident serves as a reminder of the Andamans’ vulnerability to undersea tremors and the importance of continuous disaster preparedness in the archipelago.
