Top scientist explains why Delhi, northwest India felt earthquake tremors for long time

Strong tremors jolted parts of north India, including Delhi-NCR, on Tuesday night as an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan. Panic-stricken people rushed out of buildings as the earthquake struck around 10.20pm and was also felt in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan.

There was a disruption in mobile services in some parts of the Jammu region immediately after the earthquake, an official said. There was no immediate report of any loss of life or property.

Watch: Watch how people in Delhi-NCR, J&K fled homes as earthquake shakes India, Pakistan & Afghanistan

JL Gautam, head of office and Scientist at the National Center for Seismology, said, “As we know that the Indo-Australian plate is colliding with the Eurasian plate and this release happened in that region. The Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region is very active seismologically. The reason why people in northwest India and Delhi felt for a relatively longer time is because of the depth. The depth of the fault is over 150 km so first primary waves were felt and then secondary waves. Aftershocks are likely now but they can't be forecast.”

Also Read: People rush out of houses after strong tremors jolt north India. Watch

According to an automated report generated by the National Centre for Seismology, the 6.6-magnitude quake struck 133 km southeast of Fayzabad in Afghanistan. The earthquake was at a depth of 156 km.

A Noida resident said he first noticed the dining table shaking. "Soon after we saw that the fans were also shaking. The earthquake was strong in terms of intensity and stayed for a longer period," news agency PTI quoted the resident of Hyde Park society in Noida as saying.