Earthquake shakes Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale with its epicenter in Andaman and Nicobar Islands shook several parts of Orissa in the wee hours on Tuesday.

The "great intensity" tremor with its epicenter about 1020 km south-east of Bhubaneswar was recorded at 1.26 am at 14.1 north latitude and 93.0 east longitude, the meteorological department here said

No damage to property or life has been reported due to the earthquake which lasted for a few seconds.

Several parts of the state including the state capital, Cuttack, port town of Paradip, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Bhadrak and Balasore were shaken by the tremor.

Panic-struck people rushed out of their houses in many areas.

A mild earthquake was experienced in Paradip and other areas of Jagatsinghpur district on Monday night which led panic among the people in port city.