A major quake of magnitude 7.6 struck in the Indian Ocean off India's Andaman Islands early on Tuesday, but a tsunami alert for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh was later cancelled, Reuters reported.
About 2-½ hours after the quake there were no reports of a tsunami from ocean rim countries or of any casualties from the tremor.
"We all ran out as fast as possible and have not gone back inside, fearing another quake. Everything was shaking, we are all very, very scared," Subhasis Paul, who runs a provision store in Diglipur island in North Andaman, told Reuters by telephone.
"People are calling each other out of their homes and everyone is huddled together outside," Paul said from Diglipur, about 300 km (185 miles) north of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 7.7, struck at 1:55 a.m. (1955 GMT on Monday). It was shallow, at a depth of 20.6 miles (33 km), and was centred 160 miles (260 km) north of Port Blair.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned that there could be a destructive wave along coasts up to 1,000 km (600 miles) from the epicentre, but it later withdrew its warning.
"Sea level readings indicate that a significant tsunami was not generated," it said in a statement.
An official at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services said a tsunami warning had not been issued by his department.
"We have not issued a tsunami alert and are monitoring the water level changes in the region at the moment," Ajay Kumar told Reuters by phone.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a chain of small islands hundreds of miles east of India in the Indian Ocean.
A 7.6 magnitude quake is classified by the USGS as a major earthquake and is capable of widespread, heavy damage.
An even bigger quake in the Indian Ocean in 2004 caused a tsunami that killed some 228,000 people.
"I was on the balcony, and it felt very strange for a while, like my chair was leaning to one side," said Reuters correspondent Martin Petty in Bangkok. "So I got out of there sharpish. Aftershocks went on for a good few minutes."
In Indonesia, a meteorology agency official said his agency was monitoring the Aceh area on the tip of Sumatra, but so far there had been no reports of a tsunami.
"I was waken up by the jolt," said Kyaw Min, a resident of Yangon in Myanmar.
In the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, officials said there was no news of any immediate loss of life or damage.
"We have patrol parties everywhere possible and everything appears normal. We are asking people not to panic and return to their homes," P. Karunakaran, a police superintendent in charge of the North and Middle Andaman region said by telephone from Mayabandar, about 270 km (165 miles) north of Port Blair.
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