Panic grips over earthquake prediction

Guwahati, Sep 7 (UNI) Panic has gripped entire Asom, more in the Upper Asom, following a ''pinpoint prediction'' of earthquake hitting Asom tomorrow morning by a Madras University professor.

'' The end of the world '' for Asom will be at 0821 hrs tomorrow, according to Prof N Venkatanathan of the Department of Applied Geology.

He issued the statement at Banglaore yesterday.

As the news splashed all over the newspapers this morning, there was complete chaos and panic and almost everything had come to a grinding halt with everyone taking no chance and silently preparing for the worst.

Panic buying could be seen in almost every market and so was the long queues before ATMs, and coincidental disaster management camps run by the state government had convinced the people that end of the world will be tomorrow.

'' I live in the third floor of an apartment. I am not going to stay up there tomorrow. I have made an arrangement to store basic provisions and some baby food as I have an infant. I know that there is 99 per cent of prediction going wrong but why we should take risk knowing everything, '' said Syed Zair Hussein, a senior journalist.

The statement of the Applied Geology professor predicting that there was a 70 per cent chance of a seven to eight-magnitude earthquake hitting Assam on Friday.

'' We are ready to meet any disaster, '' said Atul Agnihotri, the District Magistrate of Dibrugarh, which supposed to bear the maximum brunt of this earthquake.

The statement, issued by N Venkatanathan, said the alignment of the Sun, Moon and Mercury that day is exactly similar to the one that existed on Aug 15, 1950, when an earthquake of a magnitude of 8.5 on the richter scale killed thousands in Asom changing the landscape forever.

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