erse fault. It is perpendicular to the fault where the 2001 quake had occurred. The Transverse fault goes to east of Dholavira and is 60-km long,” said BK Rastogi, director of Institute of Seismological Research (ISR), Gandhinagar.
He further said that this fault line had become active recently. “Some aftershocks were registered on this fault line even in 2006-07. Wednesday’s earthquake was of 5.1 magnitude, and its epicentre lay about 12-15 km east of Suvai village in Kutch, about 50 km from Rapar,” Rastogi said.  He added that as the quake had occurred in the middle of the Great Rann of Kutch, no damage to property had occurred. “But 29 aftershocks have been recorded, of which the biggest was of 3 magnitude,” he said.
Rastogi further said that the Transverse fault was a proper fault and is capable of causing a big earthquake, maybe of 6 magnitude.  “But no one can predict such earthquakes, where they will strike, when and with what intensity. Currently, the fault is active and no one can say how long it will stay so,” he said.  Expressing the same view, RS Dattatrayam, head of seismology, Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), said that the science of seismology does not have enough clues to predict earthquakes.
“Earthquake prediction is still a grey area. The Rann of Kutch is zone four or five in terms of seismic activity. There are active faults in this region and, after the Bhuj earthquake, seismic activity has been recorded here frequently,” Dattarayam said.  He too said that it is difficult to say, when, where and with what magnitude an earthquake would strike. “More and better research is required in this area,” he said.  “There is a need to understand the precursors of a big earthquake. Currently, there is no technique by which an earthquake can be predicted. More study is required,” he added.