A growing concern over the possibility of a major quake hitting the central Himalayan region, which includes Uttarakhand state, is being expressed time and again during the deliberations among earthquake scientists and geologists.

    Falling in the zone four and five of the seismic map of the country, Uttrakhand region and adjacent geographically contiguous areas have experienced scores of major and minor earthquakes. Some scientists believe that a quake of magnitude eight on the Richter scale may strike the Himalayan front. One of such scientists is Robert S. Yeats from Oregon State University U.S.A, who attended a workshop on seismicity at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) in Dehra Dun some years ago.

   His assessment was based on scientific studies. However, he pointed out that seismic hazard assessment and prediction is quite a risky job because our understanding of seismic processes is very limited. Some....