Gossips about Earthquakes

　　In February of 1972, two overseas Mexicans in America sent a cable to the Mexican government and told them that there would be an earthquake in a city of Mexico, which would initiate a flood that would drown the whole city. This forecast immediately caused a serious riot in the local society. Afterwards, the Mayor of that city, told that the economic loss caused by such a forecast was more serious than that was caused by the 7.5 magnitudes earthquake in Mexico in 1968.

　 The causes of gossips:
　　（1） People take some natural phenomena as the forebodes of earthquakes, such as the sand boils and waterspouts after a thaw in Spring.
　　（2） People misunderstand the normal activities of the seismologists, such as their investigation into earthquakes, their propaganda to protect and avoid earthquakes. 
　　（3） Propaganda from overseas or gossips of people with ulterior motives.
　　（4） People are fooled by feudal superstition because of ignorance in earthquakes. 

　　Deal with Gossips with Correct Attitudes

　　Learn common sense of earthquakes and have a correct attitude towards our actual earthquake forecast capability. For the time being, the seismologists could only tell a general range of the earthquakes and they could not foretell earthquakes in detail.

　　If people hear“forecast”, which is quite accurate in time and place, it must be a gossip.