Residents of Majuli gather on the banks of the Brahmaputra on Saturday afternoon as news of the possibility of an earthquake hitting Assam reached them. Picture by Eastern Projections

Jorhat, Jan. 1: Fears of a tremor returned to haunt residents of this Upper Assam town today, 19 days after they spent a sleepless night following the prediction of an earthquake which did not occur.

Scientists at the Center for Earth Observing and Space Research in George Mason University in Virginia, the US, said aftershocks of last week?s killer quake off Sumatra are moving northwards and can potentially trigger a major earthquake in Assam.

The forecast by the US scientists has put the people here in a quandary. ?The earlier prediction made by scientists of Madras University was right. Perhaps there was some mistake in calculation for which they could not predict the exact place,? said Partha Pratim Bhattacharyya, a businessman.

Bhattacharyya, who was among those who spent a sleepless night on December 12, said he would not take any chance if there was another prediction. ?It is always better to be cautious,? he said.

Arup Chakraborty, a young medical representative who refused to believe the earlier quake prediction, also sounded circumspect this time. ?It is better to be prepared for any eventuality,? he said. ?The latest prediction could not have come at a worse moment after the tsunami disaster in southern parts of the country. I hope no one would have to face the wrath of nature again,? said Anamika Goswami, a housewife.

Last month?s prediction of an earthquake hitting Upper Assam was made by scientists at Madras University. The prediction was precise in nature ? the quake will strike Assam in the early hours of December 13. The quake did occur but 13 days later and thousands of kilometres away, off Sumatra.