Geneva - There is no sure-fire way to predict an impending earthquake, David Alexander, a United Nations disaster expert said Tuesday.
"It's probable there will never be a foolproof, fail-safe means of predicting earthquakes over the short term," Alexander told the German Press Agency dpa by phone from Florence, Italy.
What scientists could predict was mainly which areas were prone to be struck by a quake in the medium- and long-term, meaning over years and centuries.