Failed Promises

China's earthquake program claimed success in 1975 when officials evacuated Haicheng before a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, potentially saving thousands. But the prediction relied heavily on animal behavior and foreshocks — indicators that proved unreliable. The very next year, the Tangshan earthquake killed over 240,000 people with no warning whatsoever.

Other failed approaches include monitoring radon gas emissions, tracking changes in groundwater levels, and observing unusual animal behavior. While each method has occasionally coincided with earthquakes, none has proven reliable enough to base evacuations on.