Earthquake prediction - Any hope?

Earthquakes seem to occur at frequent but irregular intervals all over the world with severity that affect human habitation resulting in enormous dest ruction to life and property. Within this year several severe earthquakes h ave rocked Euro-Asean region; the Chamoli earthquake in North India followe d by repeated onslaughts in Turkey and recently in Taiwan are fresh in our memory. Is there a possibility that one could have predicted these earthqua kes precisely? What is the current status of forecasting, if possible, of a n earthquake of, say, magnitude of 5.0 and above on the Richter scale, pinp ointing the time and place where it is likely to strike? These are question s that occur naturally to help alleviate suffering, death and destruction. 'Nature' conducted a debate on this issue recently among several specialist s engaged in Earth Sciences, study of seismogenesis of earthquakes and othe rs. This article is a brief summary of the debate.