UNI
New Delhi, Jul 18: Union Home Ministry denied it issued any tsunami warning after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Java in Indonesia in the Indian Ocean region on Monday afternoon.
"The Home Ministry has not issued any tsunami warning," a Ministry official told UNI.
Earlier, the foreign media had reported that a tsunami warning was issued for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands lying close to Indonesia.
The December 2004 tsunami in Indonesia had devastated the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu and Kerala coastal region.
According to the Home Ministry, the Disaster Management Authority responsible for tsunami alerts decided not to issue any warning in the absence of any threat from Monday's earthquake.
"The situation was watched closely by the Disaster Management Authority, but felt there was no need to sound an alert," said the official.
The strong earthquake rocked the region south of Java at 1349 hrs Monday afternoon.
Earlier report
Tsunami warning declared in Andaman
Port Blair: A tsunami warning has been issued for Nicobar group of Islands after an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 in Richter scale struck off the Indonesian island of Java on Monday.
"We have alerted all the ports and asked people to stay away from coastal areas," said Deputy Commissioner of Car Nicobar group of island Ankita Misra.
She said all the defence establishments have been alerted.
Deputy Commissioner of Andaman Bikash Anand said though a local warning was sounded, there was no evacuation yet.
This local warning was sounded after the earthquake rocked Indonesia in which five people were killed.
"We are taking no chances," said Anand.
Over 3800 people in this remote archipelago were killed and thousands rendered homeless in the December 26, 2004 tsunami.