Home Ministry denies issuing tsunami warning

New Delhi, July 17: Union Home Ministry denied it issued any tsunami warning after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Java in Indonesia in the Indian Ocean region this afternoon.

''The Home Ministry has not issued any tsunami warning,'' a Ministry official told UNI.

Earlier, the foreign media had reported that a tsunami warning was issued for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands lying close to Indonesia.

The December 2004 tsunami in Indonesia had devastated the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu and Kerala coastal region.

According to the Home Ministry, the Disaster Management Authority responsible for tsunami alerts decided not to issue any warning in the absence of any threat from today's earthquake.

''The situation was watched closely by the Disaster Management Authority, but felt there was no need to sound an alert,'' said the official.

The strong earthquake rocked the region south of Java at 1349 hrs today.

UNI

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