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Frogs can predict earthquakes up to 5 days days before they happen. They sense the release of radon gases and charged particles that are released from deep Earth movements before quakes strike. They use these as a form of earthquake early-warning-system and leave their colonies for higher ground to avoid falling rocks and landslides. Researchers studying frogs in Italy saw that 96% of the male frogs left their colonies 3-5 days before the 6.3 quake that hit L'Aquila in April 6, 2009.
In May 2008 a massive earthquake hit the Sichuan province of China killing over 40,000 people. Just 2 days before it hit a mass migration of an army of small brown frogs filled the streets of the village closest to the epicenter. They were all over the place - so many in the streets that even bicyclists had a hard time steering around them. Authorities told the people it was just a frog mating ritual, but after the quake it become clear that the frogs had a natural early warning system and were trying to run away from danger that they could feel in the earth.
For many years, the Chinese have studied animals and nature for signs that can tell us when quakes will strike. They have found that when cattle, sheep, or horses refuse to enter their corral, when chickens fly up into the trees, when pigs break out from their pens, when rats run out of their hiding places, when ducks refuse to go into the water, when pigeons refuse to return to their nests, or when fish jump out of the water as if frightened are all signs of impending earthquakes. All of these animal signs happen minutes or hours before a quake. But frogs are the only animals we know who can feel the coming danger 2-3 days before and head for high ground.
An earthquake is the sudden, violent movement of the earth's surface from the release of energy in the earth's crust. Most earthquakes happen near or along the system of fault lines which cover our planet. Almost a million earthquakes happen each year, but most are not even felt. Major quakes are relatively few. Usually only one Great Earthquake 8.0+ occurs each year. But there are about 17 Major quakes of 7.0-7.9, 120 Large quakes measuring 6.0-6.9, a thousand Moderates in the 5.0-5.9 class, 6,000 Minor quakes (4.0-4.9) every year, and the remaining 993,000 are less than 3.9 and hardly ever felt, but they do happen.
Earthquakes are measured with seismic sensors positioned around the globe and rated in strength by The Richter Scale or the Moment Magnitude Scale where each higher full number shows a quake 10 times stronger the previous. Thus, a 5.0 quake is 10 times more powerful than a 4.0, a 6.0 quake is 100 times greater than a 4.0, a 7.0 is 1000 times more shaky than a 4.0, and an 8.0 is 10,000 times more powerful than a 4.0 quake!
The largest earthquake ever recorded was 9.5 in Chile in 1960. The quake that hit the west coast of Sumatra in Dec. 2004 was 9.2, the quake that rocked Chile in Feb. 2010 was 8.8 and the 7th largest since records began in 1900. The quake which destroyed most of the Haitian capitol of Port au Prince in Jan 2010 measured 7.0. It would be interesting to find out if the frogs moved out of the capitol just a few days before!
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