Second Powerful Earthquake Hits India's Andaman Islands

June 28, 2008 5:17 p.m. EST

Port Blair, India (AHN) - A second powerful earthquake has jolted India's Andaman islands located in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, officials said.

The latest tremor measured 6.3 on the Richter scale struck off the islands around 6.26 p.m. local time (12:55 GMT) at a depth of 35 kilometers (21 miles), according to the Indian Meteorological Department.

The magnitude of the earthquake was confirmed by the US Geological Survey (USGC), which is no longer uses the Richter scale to measure quakes.

The epicenter of the quake was reported to be around 140 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Port Blair, which is the capital of the islands.

On Friday, the region had experienced a 6.7 magnitude quake struck about 75 miles southwest, following which a local tsunami alert was sounded.

During the latest tremors, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami alert.

These are the same islands in India's eastern coast that were battered by December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which left hundreds dead and more than 3,000 people still officially are missing.

The government had reported that many places in the region were damaged due to collapse of homes from the quake, which was also felt in the southern states of India.

The local authorities said no damage to property, injuries or loss of life were reported.

There are 536 islands in the Indian Ocean, out of which 58 are populated.