A cat is said to have “predicted” the earthquake that rocked Australia moments before it struck the city of Melbourne. A white moggy named Carol was playing with a vibrating fish and suddenly became alert. The video was shared on Twitter Wednesday, September 22.
The feline walks casually over to a doorway, then sits down. Her owner claims that the shaking started seconds later. She shared a picture of a framed photo that crashed onto the spot Carol was playing.
Brodie Lancaster, her cat’s owner, wrote in the caption: “Not joke: The earthquake started as I was filming Carol using her new floppy fish toys.
“You can see her notice something’s happening here before I do. I am a dumb woman who thought for a sec this toy was making the floor shake.”
The footage has been watched more than 1,800 times and viewers marveled at Carol’s heightened senses of perception and how she sensed the tiniest tremors.
One person said: “He stood in front of a doorway. Smart.” A second viewer commented: “Wow. My whole room began shaking when I got out of bed.” Someone else wrote: “Gorgeous kitty. Smart too.
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake caused buildings to crumble down and dramatic images show the streets filled with rubble and debris as people gather and stare at the destruction in shock.
Geoscience Australia later revealed that three earthquakes occurred within one hour. They ranged in magnitude from 3.1 up to 5.8 on the Richter scale. Although there have been no serious injuries reported after the earthquake struck at 9:15 am, some buildings and hospitals were evacuated due to safety concerns.
While there are many stories about animals acting strangely before earthquakes, there isn’t much scientific research to back these claims. Some theories suggest that animals are able to detect small vibrations or smell strange gas from the ground prior to a quake.