How are the two related? Scientists said the subsurface vibrations of whatever it is that caused the floods may have ‘broken the sensors’ of fish upstream. “Fish have a lateral line organ (a biological system in aquatic creatures that help them detect movement and pressure changes in water). It’s very sensitive. The slightest disturbance can set it off, sending the fish into a state of shock,” said K Sivakumar, senior scientist at Wildlife Institute of India. “In this case, it’s possible that a sound preceding the flood may have been picked up by the fish. It is also possible an electric wire or some source of power fell into the water and gave them electric shocks. There can be many reasons. This is why we keep saying that dynamite blasting should never be done on a river.”