Social media accounts shared video of “earthquake lights” that appeared near Delhi, India after the Hindu Kush quake on 21-March. But the lights were instead reflection on clouds.
Category: News
Anomalous claims from Turkey-Syria earthquake 2023
With a flood of images and videos coming out of the affected area in southern and central Turkey and western Syria from the February 6, 2023 series of quakes, there are MANY inaccuracies, misattributed content, conspiracies, and pseudoscientific claims being shared and promoted by nonexperts.
Viral videos of electric rocks
January 22, 2023 was the height of a wave of social media posts about what people claimed were “electric rocks” found in the DR of Congo. A video showed a close up of someone touching two rocks together and producing a strong electric spark. The clip was widely shared and accumulated millions of views. But it was not as it appeared.
Sinkhole drains pool in Israel resulting in death
A man enjoying a private pool at a company party in central Israel was sucked into the subsurface when a sinkhole opened up under the pool. The ground collapsed into a void and rapidly drained all the pool water. After a four-hour rescue attempt in the town of Karmei Yosef, the body was later found 15 meters into the hole. Another man sustained minor injuries.
Japan’s “killing stone” splits
The infamous Sessho-seki, a protected boulder in the volcanic area of Mount Nesu in Japan, has split. The break occurred around March 5, 2022. A legend says the stone was the prison of the evil nine-tailed fox demoness Tamamo-no-Mae and that anyone who touched it died. Some people fear that evil has been released into the world. In reality, the stone had been cracked for a while and held by a rope. The rock likely split from natural weathering processes. The area is known for sulfur hot springs and potentially poisonous gases which may have contributed to the “killing stone” myth.
Booming sounds attributed to karst
Some residents of Silver Spring Township in southcentral PA began to experience booming noises days after heavy rain deluged the area in September 2021. Township officials consulted geological experts who concluded that the sounds originated underground but were not related to earthquakes. Instead, the karst system was actively moving the water and debris in the subsurface.
Peabody’s booming earthquake swarm
Residents of Peabody have been experiencing booming sounds that rattle their houses and nerves. A public meeting was held to explain to residents that 3 earthquakes were recorded (below magnitude 2) in the area and this swarm of small quakes is causing the disturbance.
Fireball “mud volcano” in Caspian Sea
On July 4, news started circulating about a huge explosion in the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan captured on video. The first information was relayed by the state oil company, SOCAR, to the Russian news agency saying the explosion was real and probably caused by a “mud volcano”.
Nyiragongo eruption misinformation
Nyiragongo volcano in the DR Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo) is a highly dangerous stratovolcano […]
Gold mine pit collapse in Sulawesi, Indonesia
The unstable slopes of an unauthorized gold mine pit on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island gave way […]
Dog rescued after disappearing down a sinkhole
February, 2016State College, Pennsylvania Megan Holmes was walking her golden retriever off the leash, during […]
Discovery of weird water pool in Lechuguilla cave
The photo of a mint-green, pristine pool in Lechuguilla cave circulating on social media resulted […]
Thirteen trapped in Thailand flooded cave
From June into July of 2018, media coverage about 12 boys and an adult man […]
The wrath of Pele
Pele, the Goddess of Fire and Volcanoes deserves her own page on this site, but […]
Island of the Dead is Eroding
Hart Island is New York City’s “potters field” where one million of the poor, unclaimed, or […]
The Grand Kenyan – A huge fissure in the East African Rift valley
A huge fissure developed in the East African Rift Valley in Kenya on March 19, 2018. […]
Ground fissures in Saudi Arabia
Dramatic and scary earth fissures unrelated to earthquakes are rather common around the world, especially […]
Coastal erosion reveals human remains on spooky Kent island
Rising sea levels and coastal erosion are revealing old wooden coffins and skeletal remains on […]