Fear, rumours on social media bring people out on streets

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Earthquakes, however, cannot be predicted. Unlike cyclones, storms, and even tsunami, these give absolutely no warning before striking. Scientists across the world have been researching for years to identify signals of an oncoming seismic wave, but have been unsuccessful so far.

“There is absolutely no method or technology that can predict earthquakes as of now. So, there is no way to say when or where the next earthquake would strike, or how strong it would be,” Harsh K Gupta, former director of the Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute, said.

Gupta, who is also a former member of the National Disaster Management Authority, said such talk was not just “unscientific” but also “mischievous”.

“It amounts to predicting earthquakes which cannot be done with our present knowledge,” he said.

Scientists in India are also engaged in a research project to detect the predictors of an earthquake. A site in earthquake-prone Koyna in Maharashtra is being used as a laboratory to carry out experiments to understand the nature and origin of earthquakes. Scientists say they are at least a decade away from finding any such indicator.