Chinese bloggers are debating whether some natural phenomena were early signs of the massive earthquake that struck Sichuan, China, on May 12.
One of the most talk-about situations is the toad migration at various places across China. I shared one of the toad stories a few days before the quake. That one happened a few thousand kilometres away from the quake zone though.
Toad migration in Sichuan
The most peculiar one happened on May 10 in a village in Mianzhu, a county heavily damaged during the earthquake. Video below is a SCTV Chinese news reporting on the incident, two days before the earthquake…
An invited expert in the video said that it’s just a common situation, that the toads were simply looking for a better place to live (for food and breeding etc.)
Ancient believes
Mass movement of wild animals were seen as a sign of pending disasters in ancient China, especially for earthquakes. The news above mentioned the concern of some villagers too, which unfortunately became a real nightmare.
Did the toads sense something coming? Was it merely coincidence and common situation like some scientists claimed? The speculation won’t end anytime soon… as many people believe in myths and conspiracies instead of science.
Back to the quake, the death toll has risen to 34,000 and it’s still counting. Again, help in whatever way you can… every bit counts.