On Monday an earthquake struck China, and at least 3,000 have died, while another 4,500 are missing. China has had many tragedies before, and now bloggers and others are speaking out about why the government ignored warning signs of the earthquake. Considering China's oppression with foreign news websites around the time of the Olympics I doubt they will be too happy about the obvious opposition. Some obvious warning signs for the earthquake that struck the Sichuan Province were the cows, throwing themselves against their enclosures in obvious angst. Ponds inexplicably drained, and toads swarmed the streets. Some bloggers even say that several warning signs from a local seismology bureau were ignored by Chinese authorities.
Even the seismometer was invented in China, a device to measure the tremors of the earth and determine if an earthquake such as the one Monday were about to happen. It is surprising to me that considering the amount of earthquakes and other disasters in China, the authorities aren't taking more precautions.
Jacobs, Andrew. "Superstitions About Quake Meet the Web, Irritating Chinese Authorities." New York Times. 16 May 2008. 2 February 2009.
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