Tsunami islands struck by earthquake
By Rob Lyons, Metro
Last updated at 08:27 25 July 2005
Thousands of people fled their homes after a large earthquake shook islands devastated by last year's Indian Ocean tsunami.
Indian and Thai authorities were on alert after the Andaman and Nicobar islands were struck by a 7.3 magnitude underwater quake yesterday afternoon.
About 3,000 people died on the islands in the Boxing Day tsunami.
But while people were ordered to evacuate the area last night, there were no early reports of casualties or damage. In the capital Port Blair, hundreds of people ran out of their homes in panic.
Thailand issued a tsunami alert and evacuated thousands of people living along the Andaman Sea coastline.
Plodprasob Surasawadee, head of the National Disaster Warning Centre, told TV viewers: 'There is a possibility that a tsunami can happen. Start the alert and evacuation.' Disaster warning sirens blared along coastlines including Phuket's famed Patong beach, where police helped local residents and Western tourists evacuate to higher ground.
Authorities later lifted the warning and declared the south-west coast safe. The Andaman and Nicobar islands are on a faultline stretching south from India's east coast to Indonesia. The chain of 550 islands has experienced hundreds of aftershocks following December's earthquake.
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