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A
strong earthquake struck northern parts
of the Andaman Islands in the Andaman & Nicobar Archipelago,
on 14 August 2002 at 03:58 AM local
time. It had a magnitude of Mw=6.5 and
is thought to have lasted close to 2-minutes.
Several moderate aftershocks were felt in the
region in the following days including two large events on the
14th and 18th of September 2002. The mainshock is believed to have
generated a local tsunami in the Andaman Sea.
The earthquake
was centred 10.7
kilometres E of Cadell Point (North Andaman Island), India,
23.8 kilometres ENE of Bonnington (Middle
Andaman Island), India,
31.6 kilometres SSE of Diglipur (North Andaman Island), India,
62.5 kilometres NNE of Rongat (Middle Andaman Island), India,
114 kilometres NW of the Barren Island volcano, India,
136 kilometres WSW of the Narcondam Island volcano, India,
154 kilometres NNE of Port Blair (South Andaman Island), India,
275 kilometres NNE of Hut Bay (Little Andaman
Island), India.
Despite its magnitude
and location, this earthquake did not result in any deaths or
injuries. Initial reports in the media said that two people had
died at Aerial Bay. This was later proven to be false by local
police.
On
North Andaman Island, a jetty at Ariel Bay was damaged and
3-4 shops nearby collapsed. A wall in the vicinity also developed a
crack; this was seconded
by a government shipping official who reported some damage to
a wharf and a few nearby houses. A culvert collapsed at Kalipur and
forced the closure of the road which ran across it. A report by Sami
Acharya of the Society of Andaman & Nicobar Ecology said that 40
houses had collapsed on Andaman Island. Diglipur is thought to have
been worst affected, where many concrete government buildings
housing the panchayat and junior engineer's offices and the police
quarters were damaged. Wooded and bamboo houses were however
unaffected.
Tremors from the mainshock were experienced on Smith Island, Ross
Island, Mayabunder, Kalighat Baratang and at Port Blair. The tremors
which lasted close to two minutes were felt strongly at Smith
Island, Ross Island, Diglipur and Kalaghat Baratang. Light shaking
was experienced at Mayabunder and at Port Blair.
A tsunami
is reported to have struck Ross Island and
Smith Island, located off the east coast of North
Andaman. A lighthouse on East Island (uninhabited) was
damaged by the earthquake and the tsunami, and 50-kilograms
of mercury used in the beacon spilled as a result. The Central
Pollution Control Board (C.P.B.C.) investigated this reported spill
and initially did not rule out fish in the area being affected by
toxicity which could then
in turn threaten humans. Later on 17
September 2002, the C.P.B.C., in a press report, stated that
25-kilograms of mercury was retrieved from the sea and that it
posed no threat to aquatic and human life in or near the
Andaman Sea.
Several strong
aftershocks occurred, including two large events
on 14 and 18 September. The first of these two aftershocks had a
magnitude of Mw=5.8 (NEIC) and occurred on 14 September 2002 at
19:58 UTC or on 15 September 2002 at 01:28 AM IST. The second event
struck on 18 September 2002 at 21:01 UTC or on 19 September 2002 at
02:31 AM IST. It has a magnitude of Mw=5.5 (NEIC). The second event
is known to have been felt at Diglipur and as far as Rangat |
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References
01)
National
Earthquake Information Centre, Golden, USA.
02) International Seismological Centre,
Berkshire, UK.
03) Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor Solution, Harvard, USA.
04)
Macroseismic information has been compiled by
the ASC from reports by local media and local NGO personnel.
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