No Immediate Reports of Damage or Casualties

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Thursday, October 29, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). The earthquake’s epicentre was located approximately 218 kilometres north-northwest of Bamboo Flat, an area in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage following the tremor. Authorities and monitoring agencies track seismic activity in the region because the islands lie in a seismically active zone, where earthquakes occur due to movements of tectonic plates.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reportedly recorded the earthquake at magnitude 5.1, while the NCS placed its magnitude at 5.0. Differences in earthquake measurements can arise because agencies use different data, methods and calculations to estimate seismic magnitude.

Previous Earthquakes in the Region

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the surrounding Bay of Bengal have experienced several earthquakes in the past. In July 2025, an earthquake measuring magnitude 6.3 struck the Bay of Bengal near the islands. According to the NCS, that earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres, with its epicentre located at 6.82° north latitude and 93.37° east longitude.

The region’s seismic activity is linked to the complex tectonic setting near the boundary of the Indian and Burma plates, which forms part of the broader interaction between the Indian and Eurasian plate systems. Such movements can generate earthquakes of varying magnitudes.

Meanwhile, a separate earthquake measuring magnitude 5.82 struck Papua New Guinea on Thursday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). Papua New Guinea is also located in a highly active seismic region of the Pacific, where tectonic plate interactions frequently cause earthquakes.

Earthquake monitoring agencies continue to record such events to assess seismic activity and provide information that can support disaster preparedness and public safety.