India today said there was no likelihood of tsunami tidal waves being formed anywhere in the Indian Ocean region after an earthquake of 8.9 magnitude hit waters off western coast of northern Sumatra in Indonesia.
Intially, the Earth Sciences Ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority issued a tsuanmi warning for Andaman and Nicobar Island and an alert to coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Later, in subsequent bulletions, the two organisations virtually ruled out tsunami in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and elsewhere in the country.
"There is no specific threat. It was a watch and alert. There is no likelihood of any tsunami in the Indian Ocean region," NDMA Vice President Sashidhar Reddy told PTI.
He said the earthquake that struck the Sumatra islands was not the kind of tremors that usually triggers tsunami tidal waves.
"It is the kind of strike and slip earth quake which does not trigger tsunami. There was no vertical displacement of water under the sea," he said.
"Tsunami possibility is virtually ruled out," he said, adding that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration and the Army stationed there had informed the NDMA that so far no waves have been noticed in the island.
The initial projections issued by the Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC) showed the tidal waves triggered by the quake hitting parts of Nicobar, Komatra and Katchal minutes after it struck the region at 14:08 IST.
The ITEWC also issued an alert for coastal Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Andaman islands forecasting the arrival time of the first wave.
Strong tremors were felt in Chennai and some other nearby areas. People in multi storeyed apartments and those working in high rise buildings rushed out to open areas.
