More than 10 days before the disastrous earthquake that hit China on May 12, residents in Abazhou of Sichuan had already been discussing that an earthquake might strike. Some called the local Earthquake Prevention and Disaster Relief Board to confirm the news, but the bureau claimed that it was merely a rumour.
A netizen who has an uncle working at the Sichuan Bureau of Seismology said the Bureau had detected signs of a quake coming, but they chose not to report it. He said his uncle called him and said there were signs of an earthquake, but for the sake of the Olympic Games, the Bureau would not let them make the news public on their official website in case people might panic.
Maerkang County Earthquake Disaster Prevention Bureau was told to take measures to find out where the rumour came from and refute it. On May 9, the Sichuan provincial government even put a statement on its official website claiming that it had successfully quelled rumours of an earthquake.
A translation of the statement reads.
May 3, 8pm, The Abazhou Earthquake Prevention and Disaster Relief Board got calls from members of the public, asking whether news that an earthquake would strike Suomo Town of Maerkang County was true. The authorities quickly demanded Maerkang Earthquake Disaster Prevention Bureau to take measures to find out where the rumour came from and to refute it, so as to stop the rumours from spreading further.The Ma'erkang Bureau quickly contacted Suomo Town Authority, which looked into the matter and claimed that the rumour started because during a teleconferencing on measures against geological disaster, the town cadre misheard it and thought disaster (quake) was mentioned.
