Photo: NORBERT WU / MINDEN PICTURES Posted on 03/13/2011 9:24:09 PM PDT by doug from upland
Oarfish omen spells earthquake disaster for Japan
Japan is bracing itself after dozens of rare giant oarfish - traditionally the harbinger of a powerful earthquake - have been washed ashore or caught in fishermen's nets.
The giant oarfish can grow up to five metres in length and is usually to be found at depths of 1,000 metres
Photo: NORBERT WU / MINDEN PICTURES
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 7:00AM GMT 04 Mar 2010
The appearance of the fish follows Saturday's destructive 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile and the January 12 tremors in Haiti, which claimed an estimated 200,000 lives.
A quake with a magnitude of 6.4 has also struck southern Taiwan.
This rash of tectonic movements around the Pacific "Rim of Fire" is heightening concern that Japan - the most earthquake-prone country in the world - is next in line for a major earthquake.
Those concerns have been stoked by the unexplained appearance of a fish that is known traditionally as the Messenger from the Sea God's Palace.
The giant oarfish can grow up to five metres in length and is usually to be found at depths of 1,000 metres and very rarely above 200 metres from the surface. Long and slender with a dorsal fin the length of its body, the oarfish resembles a snake.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
According to traditional Japanese lore, the fish rise to the surface and beach themselves to warn of an impending earthquake - and there are scientific theories that bottom-dwelling fish may very well be susceptible to movements in seismic fault lines and act in uncharacteristic ways in advance of an earthquake - but experts here are placing more faith in their constant high-tech monitoring of the tectonic plates beneath the surface
I think I remember reading this. How eerie...
And then there’s this at the end of the article:
“But these are just old superstitions and there is no scientific relationship between these sightings and an earthquake,” he said.”
I think he’ll have to rethink his position now.
There is probably something to this, but so far it sounds like another of Nostradamus' prophecies.
An interesting, if spooky, creature from immense depths. If its appearance portended “the big one”, the people had over a year to prepare for it. Sometimes, that is TOO much warning.
I am not sure if a magnitude 8+ quake hit off Southern California/Bay Area - that people could move inland in time...
"In ancient times Japanese people believed that fish warned of coming earthquakes, particularly catfish," Hiroshi Tajihi, deputy director of the Kobe Earthquake Centre, told the Daily Telegraph."But these are just old superstitions and there is no scientific relationship between these sightings and an earthquake," he said.
No, no scientific relationship, meaning only that science hasn't found the connection, but there would sure seem to be an objective relationship.
It was March 4th 2010 not 2011.
This is from a year ago.
Check the dates again. The fish appeared March 2010.
“I am not sure what to make of the dates. The poster said it was posted on March 4. The article itself appeared on the March 14 version of the paper, yet the article has a March 4 date to it. Too bad the article was not posted prior to the earthquake, if in fact it really was written in early March.”
Except it says March 4, 2010 in the article.
In that case it's not an objective relationship. I take back my previous post.
That's because it's from over a year ago.
I believe critters know what’s gonna happen before us mortals, yet, my kitties were the worst at warning me of pending earthquakes when I lived in Los Angeles. Totally useless. I don’t have a prayer now if a tornado is upon me.
Note the year...March 4, 2010
The oarfish is actually beautifully colored blue with bright red dorsal fin. The one pictured was preserved & lost the color.
It will only means Charlie Sheen is going for swim in Pacific Ocean.
I am not sure what to make of this either. I had heard about the Oarfish legend and did a search. This is the article I found. I am not sure why the Telegraph just posted the old article, but I found it interesting.
I asked the mods to change it to March 4, 2010 in the headline.
This post could cause a panic...I guess?
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