Seismologists say the quake took place 10kms below the earth’s surface at 23:59 on Sunday. The islands are 450kms from the Thai coast and the national Meteorology Bureau reported the earthquake six minutes later at 00:05 on Monday.
Residents living along the coast called authorities with various reports of buildings wobbling and shaking and windows rattling violently. One person staying at a Phuket hotel said the tremors were clearly felt on the fourth floor and lasted for quite a few seconds.
Residents posted up messages on social media websites yesterday which said government inspectors were busy checking buildings in the region for structural damage. The Nicobar islands are Indian territory and scientists say there were another 11 quakes here yesterday and all had a magnitude of at least five on the Richter scale.
Despite the series of earthquakes there has been no sign of any tsunami. A tsunami triggered by an undersea quake in December 2004 claimed the lives of an estimated 220,000 people in coastal areas surrounding the Indian Ocean.
Nicobar quake rocks Phuket, Krabi and Andaman Sea shoreline
News in Asia
An offshore earthquake rocked Phuket, Krabi, Ranong and other locations along Thailand’s Andaman Sea shoreline at midnight on Sunday. The epicentre of the 6.2 magnitude quake was the Indian Ocean’s Nicobar island archipelago.