March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

NEW DELHI, March 24: A tremor of magnitude greater than the Oct 8, 2005, can hit Kashmir in future, according to a geologist in Srinagar.

Several studies have suggested an increase in the static stress towards north-west and south-east of the rupture zone of the Oct 2005 earthquake, according to M. I. Bhat, the head of the department of geology and geophysics at the University of Kashmir in Srinagar.

An earthquake of 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Kashmir and NWFP on Oct 8, 2005, killing over 80,000 people.

Mr Bhat said: “The earthquake increased static stress of the epicentre, potentially advancing an impending tremor.

“Even before the Oct 2005 quake, a magnitude 8 tremor was overdue for the Kashmir part of the Himalayan segment.”—APP