Intermittent downpours starting on Sunday continued in the area yesterday.

Scared people in the remote hill region are leaving homes, fearing fresh tremor and landslides.

Many of them have moved to relatives' houses in other areas or to local schools.

Over 1000 people have taken shelter at Kalabubia High School, according to information reaching here.

Residents of Arabunia, Arjunchhora, Dhumoichachhora, Orjanchhori,Bamplanepara, Zakkubazipara, Bokbilochhora and nearby areas are also on the move for safer places.

People prefer to stay on open places, rather than at homes.

Primary and high schools in Borkol upazila are closed as students and teachers do not attend classes, they said.

Borkol upazila headquarter is about 55 km from the district town.

A government team of geologists from Dhaka including some teachers of Geography Department of Dhaka University visited the Borkol area yesterday and the day before. They said they will survey the area and submit a report to the government.

The July 27 moderate tremor and a series of aftershocks caused numerous cracks on hills and hillocks in Rangamati.

The tremor opened a 10-km crack from Kolabunia to Bhusanchhora. Experts say this long crack indicates a major geological change in the hills, which may cause disaster any time.

"Land displacement is the major sign normally left by tremor", said Mominul Islam of the Chittagong Meteorological Department.

"This clearly indicates tremor in near future," he said while visiting the area on Thursday.

Meanwhile Deputy Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Moni Swapan Dewan declared Borkol upazila a "tremor-torn area" and asked the district administration to provide relief and medical facilities to the people there.

He also asked the district disaster management committee to gear up its activities.

Moni Swapan was addressing a special meeting of officials at the Deputy Commissioner's office here after visiting the Kolabunia and Aimachhora areas.

At the meeting, Saiful Islam, Director General of the Bureau of Relief and Disaster Management, asked the administration to launch a quake awareness campaign in the district.

Rangamati Deputy Com-missioner Jafar Ahmed Khan said the relief ministry has allocated Tk one lakh and 100 tonnes of rice for the quake affected areas. Of this, Tk 50,000 and 40 tonnes of rice have been sanctioned for the people of Borkol upazila.