Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Hits Bay of Bengal, Tremors Felt Across Andhra Pradesh

A moderate earthquake of 4.5 on the Richter scale struck deep in the Bay of Bengal, with its minor tremors being felt in several coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh.

According to the data of the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the earthquake occurred exactly at 5:05 AM. The epicentre was located about 225 km off the Kakinada coast at a shallow depth of 10 km.

Tremors shake Visakhapatnam

The quake occurred in the deep sea, but the seismic waves were felt on the mainland, waking up residents in parts of Visakhapatnam and neighbouring areas.

Some neighbourhoods experienced mild tremors that lasted a few seconds, including:

• Mangalapalem, Gajuwaka

• Sagar Nagar, Appughar

• Arilova, Pedda Waltair

• MVP Colony

Apart from the port city, residents in parts of neighbouring Anakapalli, Vizianagaram, Kakinada and Konaseema districts reported light shaking. Shortly after dawn, many turned to social media platforms to confirm the brief morning rattling.

No damage was reported.

“Routine natural plate tectonic movements caused the shallow undersea quake,” said Andhra University geophysics experts.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and local district authorities quickly confirmed that the tremors were minor. No casualties, structural property damage or any other losses were reported anywhere along the coast. The authorities reassured the public that the region is tectonically stable.