Hello to all those interested in prediction and India,

I spoke to P N Nair this morning after a longish gap and he believes an earthquake of around 6.5 will occur in the Himalayan state of Uttaranchal with the next few days. He talked of the region around a town on the Ganges called Uttarkashi which experienced a quake of around the same magnitude in early October, 1991.

I am currently in New Delhi but I called a journalist based in Uttaranchal's capital, Dehra Dun immediately after my conversation with Nair. She reported that severe landslides are already occurring in Uttarkashi district. Landslides prior to earthquakes in the Himalayas have already been observed. Devendra Pal makes reference to them in Paper 3. For the record, the region concerned is on Pal's ridge. It is also on the Main Central Thrust, one of the two great Himalayan faults.

Some days back Shan made a prediction of a quake in the Uttaranchal state but he located it close to the Nepal border. Shan, have you anything further to add at this point.

Nair didn't talk this morning of a quake in Kutch but he says that the region has become exceptionally hot, unusual for this time of year.

I plan to contact Dr Pal shortly to see if he has picked up any signs of an impending quake. His institute is based in Dehra Dun.