The villagers of Dhundalwadi in Dahanu who were fast asleep at 4 am on Wednesday, were shaken out of their beds, literally, by tremors that had returned after a two-week lull. By the evening, eight tremors had rattled residents of the village, which is at the epicentre of the earthquake 'swarms' that have rocked the region for the last three months.

While residents claimed the tremors began as early as 4 am, the India Meteorological Department recorded only two minor earthquakes -- one at 10.44 am and the next at 1.12 pm -- both ranging between 3 and 3.1 magnitude on the Richter scale.