Academic:Tremor in Thai South was not related to Nepal's quake

BANGKOK, May 6 (TNA) - An academic of Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University says that a moderate tremor along coastal Andaman areas in the Thai South on early Wednesday morning was not directly connected with earlier earthquakes in Nepal and Papua New Guinea, but concerned parties need to be always on alert to cope with any emergency. The Thai academic, Associated Professor Panya Jarusiri at Chulalongkorn University's Department of Geology, told journalists of the information on Wednesday, confirming that the quakes on the three locations were not directly linked and the tremor in Phang-nga, Phuket and Krabi on May 6 raised no concerns because there was no continental convergence. Associated Professor Panya pointed out that early Wednesday's quake in the Thai South did not cause a tsunami because of its low magnitude, explaining that a tsunami threshold magnitude normally stands at 6 or 7 on the Richter scale. The academic noted another reason was that early Wednesday's quake happened on the Khlong Marui fault, which is a lateral fault. The academic acknowledged that quakes normall happen with the magnitudes of 1-2 on the Richter scale almost daily on Phang-nga's Yao Island and Phang-nga Bay. Meanwhile, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong told reporters that the 4.6-magnitude earthquake in the Thai South was sensed for about 5-10 seconds on the eastern part of Phuket but no damage was reported. According to the governor, local residents in Phuket calmly prepared their evacuation just after feeling the tremor, while local community leaders reached their beaches impressively within 15 minutes to monitor the sea levels and the possibility of a tsunami. Latest news reports said that a second 3.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Thailand's southern Andaman coast on early Wednesday afternoon, about 0:25pm, with its ecipenter located about one kilometer beneath the earth’s surface at about a halfway between Phuket and Phang-nga Provinces. However, there were no reports on casualties or damages and there was no tsunami warning. (TNA)