ANOTHER oarfish was found Wednesday, February 15, in Carmen, Agusan del Norte, a week after fishermen caught a 10-foot long dead sea serpent off the coast of the same town.
Netizen Elesa Jane Allocod posted on her Facebook account photos of the giant sea creature that was found off the coast in Barangay Rojales.
The first oarfish, which was 10-foot long, was found on February 8, two days before the 6.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Surigao City.
Photos of dead oarfishes have sparked debates over the Internet, as some said the fish can predict earthquakes.
The discovery also sparked discussions on social media.
According to the National Geographic's article, 5 Surprising Facts About the Oarfish That Has Been Washing Up on Beaches, oarfishes have been known to forecast earthquakes.
The article quoted Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a scientist who studies earthquakes at e-PISCO, as saying that deep-sea creatures living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to movements of active faults.
The Surigao quake last February 10 left eight people dead and injured more than 200 others. Authorities pegged the damage at almost P700 million.
The last major earthquake to hit Surigao was in 1879, with a magnitude of 7.4, according to Renato Solidum Jr., director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Solidum told SunStar Philippines that the probability of another strong earthquake is low but the agency is not discounting it. (JAR/SunStar Philippines)
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