Two days before the 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Tizhu Mountain in Gansu Province, local residents captured images of a large flock of black birds flying in circles.
Hundreds of birds perched on power lines.
The earthquake, measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale, occurred in Tizhu Mountain County, Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China at 11:59 PM on December 18. The epicenter was located in Liaoqiao Town. The quake resulted in the deaths of at least 118 people in Gansu and 11 in Qinghai, damaging water supplies, electricity, transportation, communications, and other infrastructure.
According to local media, this is the most severe earthquake to hit China in nearly a decade, following the 2014 Yunnan earthquake that claimed around 600 lives.
Notably, two days before the earthquake in Gansu, some residents captured footage of a large flock of black birds soaring in the local sky. Images taken in the evening showed a large number of black birds on the streets, some flying in low circles, while most perched densely on the power lines.
This is a rare phenomenon, very seldom occurring, and it drew people’s attention.
Following the earthquake in Gansu, images of the black birds spread widely. Many believe this was a precursor to the disaster, as historically, there have been numerous instances of animals sensing natural disasters before humans, often displaying strange behaviors from weeks to mere seconds prior to an earthquake.
In 1975, a similar phenomenon occurred in Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, China. Despite extremely low temperatures and frozen waters, many snakes emerged from hibernation in the weeks leading up to the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Haicheng on February 4 of that year.
The unusual behavior of these reptiles, along with other incidents, convinced authorities to evacuate residents from the city hours before the disaster struck.
Animals have also exhibited strange behaviors before the historic 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Tangshan, Hebei Province, China on July 28, 1976. This disaster nearly flattened the entire city, claiming over 700,000 lives.
The ruins of Tangshan after the July 1976 earthquake.
In the weeks leading up to this disaster, fresh fish in Tangshan were sold in large quantities and at low prices. Fishermen reported seeing many kinds of fish surfacing, making them easy to catch both before and after July 20.
Huo Tianhua, a resident of the city, recounted that on July 25, 1976, three days before the earthquake, he heard strange noises coming from a fish pond. When he went to investigate, he saw a school of fish jumping high out of the water, with some leaping straight up into the air, spinning like tops.
On the same day, Zhang Huixiao, a crew member, noticed a strange whistling sound around his boat, followed by a swarm of green dragonflies landing all over the vessel, remaining still even when shooed away.
One day before the earthquake, Mr. Zhang You and several others in Pingcun Town, Tianan County, Tangshan saw mother swallows carrying their chicks away. Many residents in the county also observed swarms of dragonflies and grasshoppers flying together, spreading over a hundred meters.
On that same day, Mr. Wang Gaisong in Luannan County, Tangshan saw a horde of rats in his garden scurrying about in panic, with many large rats carrying smaller ones frantically as if searching for shelter. At a cooperative warehouse near Tangshan, over 300 rats were seen emerging from their burrows and gathering together.
At midnight on July 27, just hours before the devastating earthquake, Mr. Wang Cai in the suburbs of Tangshan was astonished to see four ducks at his gate stretching their necks and quacking, following him closely and tugging at his pants as if trying to convey a message. Meanwhile, Mr. Zhang Baoquy in Luannan County couldn’t sleep due to his cat’s desperate cries; it refused to eat and kept running around in panic.
That night, many people heard abnormal dog barking, and horses broke loose, running wildly onto the national highway. At 3:45 AM on July 28, 1976, an earthquake was recorded with “destructive power equivalent to 400 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.”
According to The Washington Post, videos recorded in Turkey showed that before the earthquake that killed over 7,800 people in Turkey and Syria on the morning of February 6, 2023, many birds abruptly left their nests, flying chaotically and making loud noises above the houses.
In 2016, about 15 minutes before a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Oklahoma (USA), residents also witnessed thousands of birds suddenly flying erratically in the air as if sensing the impending disaster.
