In Batangas, Philippines, a strong 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit the province on Tuesday night around (9) nine in the evening. The Philippine Institue of Volcanology and Seismology (PhilVocs) said.
The quake was also felt in various areas of Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Although there were no reported damages, a series of aftershocks were recorded several hours after the initial quake.
This was soon taught to have connected with the oarfish found near the shore a few days ago.
Some are claiming that an oarfish is swimming near the shore is a prediction that an earthquake will soon hit the area. These giant creatures are described as “messengers of the sea” In months now the said messenger keeps on floating near shore in the Philippines. It triggers fear that an earthquake is about to hit the land.
A number of bizarre-looking creatures, which normally live at depths of 3,000ft, have been discovered dead along the country’s coasts.
A professional in ecological seismology, Kiyoshi Wadatsumi said that deep-sea fish which usually inhabits at depths of 3,000ft or near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea.
About two weeks before the 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit Surigao City, Philippines, two (2) oarfish have been found in the shores of Butuan City and another oarfish was washed ashore in Misamis Occidental and in Agusan del Norte days later.
And on February 10 year after, a big earthquake rocked Surigao City leaving 6 persons dead and thousands of victims hurt. The earthquake left homes, roads and infrastructures destroyed.
While homeowners are still recuperating from the natural calamity, a number of oarfish and other sea-deep creatures were spotted on the beaches of nearby provinces.
Mark Benfield, an oceanographer and ecologist of Louisiana State University conservationist that whatever the oceanographic phenomena particular these animals on shore, they’re probably on a large enough scale to affect more than one oarfish.
The sightings have provoked quite a stir among residents with a lot of shares on social media networks noting that the sightings tend to tell of a bad omen that a calamity like an earthquake is about to hit the city.
Recorded Sightings:
Before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami knocked Japan, about 20 oarfish stranded themselves on shores in the region.
Dozens of the deep-sea denizens were discovered by fishermen around the time a powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile in March 2010.