Hyderabad: The earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale which shook Nepal and several areas in India on Saturday can be classified as a "great earthquake" and the aftershocks will continue for next 10-15 days, according to NGRI seismologist RK Chadha.
"Depending on the magnitude, this earthquake is classified as 'Great earthquake'. For such a magnitude, the aftershocks will continue to occur for the next 10-15 days (in the same region), though it will be small and intensity will go on decreasing," CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) chief scientist Chadha told PTI.
He said that NGRI observatories across the country recorded the earthquake that struck at around 11.41 am with the epicentre of 80 km north-west of Kathmandu, at a depth of about 15 km.
"There were 15 aftershocks in the range of 5 to 6.6 on the Richter scale, till 4.30 pm in the region," he said.
He further noted that today's earthquake is the biggest one in Nepal and surrounding regions after the earthquake of 8.4 magnitude which occurred along the Nepal-Bihar border in 1934.
At least 26 people were killed and over 100 injured in India following the earthquake today with Nepal reporting a massive 700 deaths.
