These days, evenings show the day, rather night. On Monday, too, everything was going smooth until a tremor was felt at 6.06pm measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale.

People had left the parks to return to their respective homes with private and government offices functioning usual leaving the fear of tremors behind.

As soon as the residents realised that the quake has hit back again, they came out on the streets searching for a safe place.

"We thought everything was normal because even the Met department had predicted that there would not be further aftershocks but suddenly on Monday evening we felt the shock after which the whole family rushed outside. Since morning, everything was normal but this sudden shock has frightened us. I am not bothered much about our lives but about the children. I think the district administration should further extend the closure of the schools," said Anita Jain, a home-maker and resident of Bhattacharya Road.

The tremor, which lasted for 10 seconds, forced residents and office-goers to come out on the road leaving the traffic haywire for almost half an hour. Many residents who had left the parks on Monday morning rushed towards Gandhi Maidan again.

People staying in apartments too rushed down the stairs and kept on staring at their own building for hours. Bhudeo Singh, a resident of Maxwell Complex, was among those who experienced the tremor and within five minutes, he vacated the apartment. "I was sitting down till afternoon and everything looked fine. However, this evening suddenly, I felt the tremor and rushed down from my fourth-floor flat. At this old age, it really becomes tough to go down, that too in hurry," said Bhudeo.

After spending sleepless nights for two days, he had started to feel normal, keeping the quake fear out of his mind. However, chaos and fear were writ large on the faces of the residents once again.

Patna Met office director Ashish Kumar Sen too confirmed that the tremor was felt. "The people of Patna should not fear now as the chances of any major aftershock and tremor have almost diminished in the city and even elsewhere in the state. However, people are advised to take some precautions," said Sen.

The people are going through a tough phase as they have gone into the fear mode back-to-back from thunder squall to quake. Till Monday, 57 people have been killed in the state and death toll is likely to go up.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar holds meetings with officials concerned everyday and even takes a round of the parks to boost the morale of people as many have chosen open spaces to spend the night.

REALITY BITES

Earthquake triggers a series of rumours like cracks in bridges and the moon rising upside down. People are getting insecure and panicky following such rumours. Afraid, many residents in the city and elsewhere have started spending nights in parks and open spaces. Also, there are reports of 14 people dying of heart attack fearing the quake. Roshan Kumar picks up five such rumours checking their realities with Nalanda Open University vice-chancellor and geographer RBP Singh, Patna Met office director Ashish Sen and Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd secretary (planning and admin) Ashok Kumar Verma

Rumour I: Earthquake measuring 13.4 on the Richter scale is going to hit almost 45-80 per cent of the area in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The message was spread through social networking sites. The sender bears the name of Central Meteorological Department, Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
Reality: This is a baseless rumour with no head and tail. As per seismic data recorded till date, the highest earthquake measured is about 9 on the Richter scale and messages such as aftershocks measuring 13.4 on the Richter scale going to hit after Nepal earthquake are not correct

Rumour II: Moon rising upside down and reducing to half the size due to gravitational force. The moon overturned due to disturbances in the earth’s inner crust after the earthquake hit Nepal and India
Reality: It is a rumour as there is no direct relation between earthquake and the movement of moon. Changes in the moon’s shape are mainly due to its rotational movement. As part of its rotational movement, the moon changes its shape every day. There was curiosity among people as many of them noticed it after the earthquake and some spread it as rumour

Rumour III: Due to disturbances in the earth’s inner crust, underground water in some areas has turned poisonous and consumption of such water will have 
ill effects on health
Reality: This is also a rumour as there is no direct relation between tectonic changes (changes in the earth’s surface) with underground water getting poisonous. Due to the tremors, there can be eruption of underground water or sand from the earth’s inner crust but water can never become toxic (poisonous). Surface water can become toxic only if there is an earthquake leading to volcanic eruption and the erupted particles mix with surface water either in lake or river

Rumour IV: Rajendra Nagar flyover connecting Kankerbagh and Rajendra Nagar develops cracks in the middle of flyover. 
The crack is on both sides of the road
Reality: The crack is not due to the Saturday earthquake but it is an expansion joint crack. The crack is an earlier one and not new. After the Saturday earthquake, the gap has widened. However, it is not a structural crack but bitumen layer crack. The crack was noticed, as bitumen, which was filled in the crack, peeled off during the earthquake

Rumour V: With earthquakes for two consecutive days, there will be more such tremors with even higher intensity and 
these will be felt for the next one month or 15 days
Reality: As there are major fault lines, there will be aftershocks for next some days. But the intensity of such aftershocks will be much less than Saturday’s first tremors. There will be tremors of less intensity such as 5, 4, 3 on the Richter scale and can be observed only with earthquake measuring instrument