Did toads predict the earthquake?

Did toads predict the earthquake?

observers.france24.com

According to recent estimates, the earthquake that hit China on Monday could leave 10,000 people dead. Web users are saying that the catastrophe could have been avoided, if only they had listened to the toads.

Two days before the quake thousands of toads suddenly decided to move across a bridge in Taizhou, a town in the Jiangsu province (see photos). Chinese web users are wondering why the local authorities didn't relate the event to the imminence of an earthquake, and why scientists didn't take notice of the bizarre disappearance of a lake in Enshi, in the Hubei province, on April 26 (see photos).

(visit the link for the full news article)

lesson:if you notice weird mass animal behavior, get the heck out of dodge especially if a body of water disappears

observers.france24.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

China officially uses animal behaviour to predict earthquakes. I think Rupert Sheldrake has some talk on this (no link though). All rural Chinese are to report odd animal behaviour for just this reason and the success rate is something like 50%!

This is interesting I have always thought that animals can sense things that we cant....Ive seen stories of cats heading for the hills just before a tornado strikes and what not ...Interesting story.

reply to post by Kupios


50%? So it's true or not...aren't those the odds of just about everything?

Seriously, very interesting and I would definitely pay attention to it, just as the animals behaved strangely in Thailand before the tsunami.

Same stories from the tsunami.

About an hour before the wave hit a herd of buffaloes on the beach froze with their heads directed to the ocean. For about a minute their were like stiffened, then they set for the hills. The villagers run after them, that saved their lives.

Same story with some elephantes. They sudddenly lost discipline and run. The mahuts set after them and managed to get them under control. Only for about ten minutes, then they were off again. Second time no discipline worked.

Fascinating article and pics, thanks for posting this.

The "frog march" is amazing, and the evidence is overwhelming that animals sense earthquakes and other catastrophic events that we are dumb to.

[edit on 15-5-2008 by gottago]

Its amazing how some people still refuse to acknowledge that animals can sense things we can't. I don't know if its a pride issue or what, but I think we can safely label it A FACT that animals can and do sense impending danger.

I know I'm convinced.

I think its been documented well enough, on hundreds upon thousands of situations.

I never heard about the buffalo/tsunami story. But I don't doubt it at all.

I can't understand why some people don't buy in to it. Is it truly a pride issue; they're "just animals" so it can't possibly be true? Or is it just plain ignorance?

Maybe animals don't know why they're running away from a particular area, but they know enough to get the hell out of there. That's good enough for me.

We need to start paying attention and heeding their warnings.

[edit on 5/15/08 by NovusOrdoMundi]

Maybe we should keep an eye on the area around Bakersfield, CA:

www.cnn.com...#/video/us/2008/05/15/calahan.frog.invasion.kget

Would be interesting if something did occur. Though, I hope not for the people who live in the area.

reply to post by IrvingTheExplainer


Fixed Link

Hopefully its nothing. They seem to just be moving in to that neighborhood and not really leaving the area entirely. So I hope thats a sign that it is nothing.

Although California is no stranger to big earthquakes.

All we can do is hope. We don't need any more disasters anywhere, doesn't matter what country it is.

I know that the Japanese have been carrying out experiments with catfish for quite some time - apparently when an earthquake is imminent, they begin to swim erratically. There's a significant folklore behind it. There have been mixed results thusfar, from what I understand.

The problem with using animal behavior as a method for prediction is that even if you can isolate all other possible stimulus for erratic behavior, you still cannot answer any of the following questions with any degree of certainty:

- When will the earthquake be?
- Where will the earthquake be centered?
- How strong will the earthquake be?

Even if the first two could be predicted accurately, the third is the most important. Think of it in terms of, say, Los Angeles. the government issues a 12 hour warning of a quake. People go home, remove the good china from the top shelves, quietly line up for bottled water and supplies, and evacuate the city in an orderly fashion. The quake hits and it's a M5.5. Or a 6.0. Can you see any potential problems arising from this situation?

Unfortunately, at the moment, relying on animals (and cloud formations) for quakes is only marginally accurate. It's like the phrase "red sky in morning, sailors take warning". If you see a red sky in the morning, you will likely get bad weather - but you don't have any idea of when, or how bad the weather will be. Could be a drizzle, could be a hurricane.

When I read that article the picture that came into my mind was of Zhang Heng's seismometer.

Zhang Heng
Born 78
Nanyang, China
Died 139
Luoyang, China

Residence Luoyang
Fields Astronomy, Mathematics, Seismology, Hydraulics, Geography, Ethnography, Mechanical engineering, Calendrical science, Metaphysics, Poetry
Known for Seismometer, Hydraulic-powered Armillary sphere, pi calculation, shi (poetry), Universe model, lunar eclipse and solar eclipse theory
Religious stance Confucianism, Chinese folk religion

In 132, Zhang Heng presented to the Han court what many historians consider his most impressive invention. Zhang Heng invented the first seismometer, called Houfeng Didong Yi (lit. instrument for measuring the seasonal winds and the movements of the Earth), for determining the exact direction of tremors and earthquakes.[29] According to the Book of Later Han (compiled by Fan Ye in the 5th century), his copper-made urn-shaped device, with swinging inverted pendulum inside, was able to detect the direction of an earthquake from hundreds of miles/kilometers away.[40] This was essential for the Han government in sending quick aid and relief to regions devastated by this natural disaster.[40][4] Later Chinese of subsequent periods were able to reinvent Zhang's seismograph, including the 6th century mathematician Xindu Fang of the Northern Qi Dynasty,[41] and the astronomer and mathematician Lin Xiaogong of the Sui Dynasty (581–618).[42] On June 13, 2005, modern Chinese seismologists announced that they had successfully created a replica of the instrument

Why did the article make me think of this ?, well look at what catches the balls from the dragons mouth

en.wikipedia.org...

edit to add source link

[edit on 18-5-2008 by sherpa]

reply to post by reject


It would appear so...

Taken from the BBC website:

Common toads appear to be able to sense an impending earthquake and will flee their colony days before the seismic activity strikes.
The evidence comes from a population of toads which left their breeding colony three days before an earthquake that struck L'Aquila in Italy in 2009.
How toads sensed the quake is unclear, but most breeding pairs and males fled.
They reacted despite the colony being 74km from the quake's epicentre, say biologists in the Journal of Zoology.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Maybe we'll see toads in cages, like canaries in the mines.

Sendran.