New Delhi: Hours after a tsunami warning was issued on Wednesday following the 8.6-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia, India withdrew the warning, saying that there was no cause of panic.
Home Secretary R K Singh said, "Apart from Nicobar, the tsunami warning has been reduced to tsunami alert."
Referring to the second earthquake in Indonesia, which measured 8.2 on the richter scale, Singh said, "Let us see what waves are generated by the second quake."
According to Singh, the authorities have been asked for evacuation in South Andaman. Meanwhile, reports suggested that some people had already been evacuated from South Andaman as a precautionary measure.
Reports also said that Andaman and Nicobar Islands could see waves up to 3.9 metres high following the quakes.
Though the tsunami warning has been scaled down, the government has sounded high alert in six districts of Odisha and emergency preparations are underway.
Meanwhile, according to Indian Air Force (IAF) sources, two planes with 80 NDRF personnel and five tones of relief material have been sent to Port Blair.
In Andhra Pradesh, the government has asked the administration in all the coastal districts to remain on alert and shift people to safer areas.
Fishermen have also been asked to stay away from the sea.
Strong tremors were felt in different cities of the country on Wednesday afternoon. People in multi-storeyed apartments and those working in high rise buildings rushed out in panic after they felt the tremors.
Tremors were felt in Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Patna, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar and several other cities on the eastern coast of India.
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