Hello Juliet,

Mainstream structural geology shows that if the fluid pressure in a fault increases, the fault becomes weaker. If there are permeable fractures/faults, so that, for example, a reservoir, or even raised water table raises fluid pressures, this increase counteracts the "normal stress" that holds faults together. The question is whether this would have any affect at the depth of Kutch earthquakes.....it has an effect in some areas of shallow earthquakes, but I imagine (have not checked) that the Gujarat quake would have originated 10 or 15 km down.....Chris