Twin earthquakes hit Andaman Islands within two hours

Two medium-intensity earthquakes hit the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago within a span of less than two hours today, the Indian Meteorological Department said here.

According to the National Centre for Seismology, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 on the Richter scale hit the Andaman Islands at 6.19 pm, followed by another at 8:05 pm.

The second earthquake had a magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale.

According to the National Centre for Seismology, the epicentre of the quakes was in the Andaman Islands region and occurred at a depth of 10-km.

The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago falls under a high seismic zone.

"It's quite a normal phenomenon. The earthquake was not so powerful as to issue a tsunami warning," an officer of the National Centre for Seismology told.