Two powerful earthquakes struck the Bay of Bengal in the early hours of Monday night, with both tremors exceeding magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the seismic events were recorded near Great Nicobar’s Campbell Bay.
The first quake, measuring 6.3 in magnitude, occurred at 12:11am, followed by a second, stronger quake of 6.5 magnitude at 1:41am. Both earthquakes had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, which typically increases the intensity of ground shaking felt on the surface.
USGS reports indicated that around 25,000 people may have experienced mild tremors, but the likelihood of significant damage remains low.
The region is no stranger to seismic activity, Andaman and Nicobar Islands lie in India’s most earthquake-prone zone 5 and are situated along the highly active Sunda megathrust. This tectonic boundary marks the convergence of the Indo-Australian plate and the Sunda plate, making the area vulnerable to frequent quakes and volcanic activity.
The memory of the catastrophic 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake still haunts the region. That 9.1 magnitude quake and the resulting tsunami claimed over 10,000 lives in this island chain alone.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a union territory of India, made up of 572 islands scattered across the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Only 38 of these islands are inhabited, and the remoteness and topography make disaster preparedness and early warning systems critical for the safety of the island’s residents.