July 29, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lankan authorities have confirmed that the country remains entirely unaffected by a strong undersea earthquake that struck the Bay of Bengal in the early hours of today.
The Geological Survey and Mines Bureau stated that the seismic event, which registered a magnitude of 6.3 on international monitoring systems, poses no threat to Sri Lanka.
The quake occurred at approximately 12:11 a.m., with its epicentre situated near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a seismically active zone in the Indian Ocean.
According to India’s National Centre for Seismology, the earthquake was recorded at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres beneath the seabed, specifically at coordinates 6.82°N and 93.37°E.
The tremor was followed by several aftershocks, which were felt in nearby regions. However, there have been no reports of damage to property or casualties across the region.
In a formal statement, Deepani Weerakoon, Director General of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, reassured the public that the tremors did not trigger any seismic activity in Sri Lanka or its surrounding coastal waters.
She also noted that the earthquake’s epicentre was approximately 259 kilometres west-northwest of Sabang, a town in Indonesia’s Aceh province.
