No evidence to support May 11 doomsday warning: NSC
Taipei, May 10 (CNA) No abnormal underground movement has been detected over the past month, the National Science Council (NSC) said Tuesday in dismissing a prediction by a self-proclaimed prophet that a magnitude 14 earthquake will destroy Taiwan on May 11.
"Everything looks smooth, " NSC Deputy Minister Chen Cheng-hong said, pointing to recent data on groundwater levels, soil gas composition and magnetic intensity that are commonly used in seismic research.
"The council has no authority to take action against individual remarks, but based on the scientific evidence we have now, we can't see a massive earthquake coming," he said.
A popular blogger who calls himself "Teacher Wang" predicted that a super earthquake would hit Taiwan at 10: 42: 37 a.m. on May 11 and "rip the island in half."
Wang, whose apocalyptic warnings have caused some public anxiety, said his prediction was based on the Chinese classic I Ching.
As of Tuesday, hundreds of freight containers had been delivered to Puli in Nantou County to accommodate Wang and his followers, who believe it will be safer to take shelter in the converted containers when the earthquake and accompanying 170-meter high tsunamis hit.
A total of 9,000 sacks of rice weighing more than 27 tons, along with necessities such as bottled water and diesel fuel, have also been spotted at the site.
Rebuffed by scientists, Wang's prediction has also drawn ridicule from netizens.