News reports of an underwater earthquake at a depth of 10 km in the Lakshadweep Sea about 341 km South South West of Colombo on Saturday evening created a ripple in the capital city.
Authorities said no tsunami warning was issued. The seismograph at the Meteorology Centre here and the one of the Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) located at Peechi recorded the earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale. The quake occurred at 10 minutes past 4 pm.
Revenue Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said there were no reports from anywhere in the state about residents experiencing the quake. However, he said, the administration had been directed to remain alert.
P.S.Biju, Director- in- charge, Met Centre said the India Meteorology Department (IMD) had not issued a warning following the low intensity quake. “There have been at least seven quakes of the same intensity over the course of the month. There is no reason for alarm”.
Dr.N.P.Kurien, Director, CESS said officials at the institute were alerted to the incident following a call from a citizen. “We checked up with our seismology unit at Peechi and found it had recorded the quake”. Dr.Kurien said the epicentre was roughly 600 km south of Thiruvananthapuram.
Concerned citizens rang up disaster management control rooms and offices to inquire about any warning issued in the wake of the quake.
According to the website of the US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the quake was located 3.949 degrees latitude and 79.040 degrees longitude.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) at Hyderabad later revised the magnitude of the underwater quake to 5.2. A bulletin issued by the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre at INCOIS at 4.18 pm said there was no threat of a tsunami for India.
Incois director Dr Sathish Shenoi told The Hindu that the seabed where the quake had occurred was not marked by a subduction zone where tectonic plates create periodic upheavals. “It is unusual for quakes to occur in such areas”. He said INCOIS had used computer models and water level measurements to discount the possibility of a tsunami.
