A post circulating on Facebook, attributed to the page Earthquake News Everyday, warns that from โnow to the next 4โ12 hoursโ and โthe next 5โ7 days,โ a โvery strong/big one earthquake (6.5 ~ 8.5)โ could strike multiple countries across the Pacific, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Chile, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, New Zealand, and Australia.
Rating: FALSE
The facts: No agency anywhere can predict exact time, location, and magnitude of upcoming earthquakes
The claim circulating online directly contradicts the consensus of the global scientific community.
1. Scientists cannot predict earthquakes.
The US Geological Survey (USGS), one of the worldโs leading authorities in seismology, states clearly:
โNeither the USGS nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. We do not know how, and we do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future.โ
Earthquakes cannot be predicted with a specific date, time window, location, and magnitude, as the viral post claims.
2. PHIVOLCS has repeatedly warned the public against fake earthquake โalerts.โ
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) issues official bulletins and advisories, yet no such red alert was released by the agency. PHIVOLCS routinely reminds the public not to believe social media posts that claim to forecast โbig onesโ within hours or days.
3. No mechanism exists to warn โthe entire Pacificโ of an impending simultaneous quake.
The post lumps together more than a dozen countries across multiple tectonic plates โ an impossible scenario for short-term, simultaneous prediction. While the Pacific Ring of Fire is an active seismic zone, the behavior of one fault system does not provide a forecast for every other system across the ocean.
4. New scientific studies on possible โprecursorsโ remain experimental.
Recent academic discussions about subtle seismic โnoise changesโ before earthquakes are not operational, not proven predictive tools, and not adopted by any seismological agency.
There is no validated system that can warn people hours or days before an earthquake.
Why this is false โ and dangerous
The Facebook post uses authoritative language (โred alert,โ โvery strong/big one,โ โ4โ12 hoursโ) similar to actual disaster notifications, despite having no scientific or institutional basis.
Misinformation like this causes unnecessary panic, public confusion, erosion of trust in real hazard warnings, and spread of fear-based content that thrives on engagement rather than evidence.
Real earthquake preparedness comes from hazard maps, building standards, and community readiness โ not predictions.
The bottom line
There is no scientific basis for the claim that a magnitude 6.5 to 8.5 earthquake will strike multiple Pacific countries within the next hours or days.
No credible seismic agency โ USGS, PHIVOLCS, JMA (Japan), Geoscience Australia, or any other regional authority โ has issued such an alert.
The viral โEarthquake News Everydayโ post is false and should not be shared.
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