A powerful earthquake of 7.7 magnitude hit Nicobar Islands shortly after midnight at about 12.57 hours. It was epicenter 157 KMs west of Great Nicobar near Misha island. Its impact has been felt in many coastal areas of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. The tsunami alert issued to India, Srilanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia early this morning was withdrawn later.<br/><br/>Indian National Centre for Ocean information services at Hyderabad ruled out the possibility of Tsunami in Indian Ocean region despite surge in sea level.<br/><br/>AIR Correspondent reports, Nicobar islands are still experiencing after shocks and five shocks with magnitudes ranging from 4.8 to 5.3 have been reported till late today evening.