Earthquake Predictions of Xiao Hongyun

Xiao Hongyun, a 53 year old teacher in Hunan province, China, claimed that she can predict an earthquake which occured in her country few days before. Usually she suffers dizziness, tinnitus and palpitations, before a major earthquake hit a city. The most recent occasion was in April 2013 before the 7 Richter magnitude scale quake in Ya'an, Sichuan province, which claimed around 200 lives. She fainted while giving a lesson and was sent to hospital, but after the doctor check her health conditions she appeared to have nothing wrong with her. Two days before, she told her husband about her bad feelings: "I'm afraid an earthquake is about to happen somewhere." She said that she was began to feel dizzy on the 18th April and she could not fall asleep during the night, especially on the 20th April; she was still awake at 4am, feeling very tired as if she were in a boat swaying on the water. Later It seems her prediction came true when she watching the TV on the morning of 20 April, the quake hit Ya'an.

Xiao Hongyun showing her diary that contain her earthquake predictions

Xiao said her quake sensitivity was triggered from an electric shock that she suffered at the age of 13. "At that moment, my whole body went numb and I collapsed on the ground. Luckily I was not hurt badly." Since then she experienced dizziness and other symptoms, but medical examinations have never revealed abnormaities. One day when she was 16 years old, she heard a roar while working in a rice paddy, but the people next to her didn't hear anything. Many days later, she learned that the Tangshan earthquake in northeast China had happened on that same day (26 July 1976) killing hundreds of thousands of people. However, she didn't associate her abnormal physical symptoms with quakes until 23 years later, when she saw a TV report on a major quake in Taiwan on 21 September 1999, the day after she suffered strong physical reactions.

Since then, Xiao watches the news every time she feels out of sorts. "After my physical reaction, most likely there will be an earthquake," she said. "Based on the degree of the ringing in my ears, I can judge how far, how strong, and in what direction approximately a quake will be." Because nobody believed her, she started recording every premonition that had been verified by a quake, asking her family and colleagues to sign the pages as confirmation. The closest predicted quake occured in Linli county, Chendu, and the furthest occured in Chile.

The day before the Yushu quake of 14 April 2010, Xiao contacted Sun Shihong, a retired professor who had worked at the Chinese Seismograph Station, telling him she had a strong physical reaction and that this usually happened the day before a quake. Sun Shihong came to believe in her unusual talent; since then, experts from various seismic stations throughout Hunan province have visited Xiao to investigate. They have concluded that she can sense the infrasonic vibrations in advance of seismic events. The higher magnitude, the stronger the ringing in her ears.

Sources:
Fortean Times Magazine vol. 304: "Sensing Earthquakes-The Woman Who Feels Seismic Events Before They Happen";
http://www.bjlnm.com/2009/12/accurately-predict-the-yushu-female-teachers-xiaohong-yun-earthquake-map/

Pic Source:
Fortean Times Magazine vol. 304 page 8