Indian Ocean: According to the National Center for Seismology (NCS), a magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck the Indian Ocean on Thursday.
The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km, leaving the risk of aftershocks high.
In a post on X, the NCS said, “Equation M: 5.3, On: 27/11/2025 11:02:45 IST, Lat: 1.30 N, Long: 96.87 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Indian Ocean.” Earlier in the day, another magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the area at a depth of 10 km. In a post on X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 6.4, On: 27/11/2025 10:26:25 IST, Lat: 2.99 N, Long: 96.23 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Indian Ocean.” Another earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred in the same area at a depth of 10 km.
The NCS said in a post on X, “EQ of M: 4.8, On: 27/11/2025 01:24:24 IST, Lat: 0.76 N, Long: 96.95 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Indian Ocean.” Shallow earthquakes are generally more dangerous than shallow earthquakes. This is because seismic waves from shallow earthquakes have a shorter distance to travel to reach the surface, causing greater ground shaking and potentially causing more damage to buildings and more deaths.
On December 26, 2004, at 07:58:53 (local time), a magnitude 9.2-9.3 earthquake struck, with its epicenter off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. This undersea megathrust earthquake, known to the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was caused by a rupture in the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate, and its Mercalli intensity reached IX in some areas.
The earthquake triggered a massive tsunami with waves up to 30 m (100 ft) high, known as the Boxing Day tsunami or Asian tsunami after the Boxing Day holiday. It devastated communities along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, killing approximately 227,898 people in 14 countries, particularly Aceh (Indonesia), Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu (India), and Khao Lak (Thailand).
The direct result was a severe disruption to living conditions and trade in coastal areas of these and other nearby countries. It is the deadliest tsunami in history, the deadliest natural disaster of the 21st century, and one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.
