Thousands of sardines wash up on shore hours before major earthquake

09 January 2024 , 17:11

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The sardines appeared along the coast of Tinoto village in Sarangani province on the Philippine island of Mindanao (Image: Jam Press Vid)

A major earthquake has hit the Philippines after thousands of sardines mysteriously washed up on its beaches.

On January 7, locals found heaps of small fish on a beach, turning the shoreline silver for up to four kilometres. While some were delighted by what they described as a "blessing from above," others feared that it was a sign that something ominous was about to come.

The sardines appeared along the coast of Tinoto village in Sarangani province on the Philippine island of Mindanao. Local man Mark Baya was worried that the beaching was an "advance notice", adding that his "feat may be baseless, but who knows".

On Tuesday January 9, a powerful earthquake struck the Philippines before dawn. It measured 7.1 on the Richter scale and was classed as a "major" earthquake - a rarity given only three to 20 major earthquakes happen worldwide per year.

The quake struck approximately 74 miles south-east of Sarangani Island about 47 miles deep. The island lies about 41 miles from Tinoto as the crow flies.

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Although the earthquake was felt in parts of Sarangani province, there have been no reports of casualties, injuries, or damage to infrastructure so far. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has said aftershocks are expected but added that there is no tsunami risk.

Thousands of sardines were washed onto the beach (Jam Press Vid)

Locals thought it was a "bad omen" (Jam Press Vid)

Cirilo Lagnason Jr of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Soccsksargen region says the beaching and the quake were not necessarily linked. He said: “This may be a result of upwelling, an ocean process in which colder water is pushed towards the ocean surface, bringing nutrients, including plankton, the diet of these juvenile fish. As a result, the fish were trapped in shallower areas, making them easier to catch.”

So far, 2024 has had its fair share of earthquakes, with a major earthquake hitting central Japan on New Year's Day. Amid that chaos, a woman in her 90s was found in the wreckage of a two-storey building in the town of Suzu, days after the 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the Japan Sea coast on Monday, flattening towns on the remote Noto peninsula.

Zesha Saleem