Myanmar authorities arrested astrologer John Moe following his trending TikTok video, which made another massive earthquake prediction, resulting in public hysteria. The April 9 post occurred just two weeks after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that left 3,500 dead and ruined ancient temples nationwide, BBC reported.
Astrologer Predicts the Earthquake
The astrologer, who had over 300,000 followers on his disabled account, foretold that an earthquake would hit all the cities in Myanmar on April 21. The video, which was viewed over three million times, told individuals to evacuate buildings when shaking and “take important things with you and run away from buildings during the shaking.” The caption also warned, “People should not stay in tall buildings during the day.”
Myanmar’s information ministry detained Moe The on Tuesday in Sagaing for issuing “false statements with the intent to cause public panic.” Seismologists and experts have explained that earthquakes cannot be predicted because of the complicated factors involved.
The effect of the prophecy was experienced on the ground. One resident of Yangon informed AFP that most of her neighbors were convinced by the video and preferred to sleep in the open outside on April 21 rather than in their homes.
Recent Devastating Earthquake
The arrest comes after the widespread devastation triggered by the earthquake that hit Myanmar on March 28, specifically in the Mandalay and Sagaing areas. The magnitude of the earthquake led to Myanmar’s military government urgently appealing for international assistance.
The earthquake’s effects were felt as far as 1,000 kilometers away, including in neighboring Thailand, where tremors caused a construction site collapse in Bangkok, tragically killing dozens of workers. As Reuters reports, “the collapse of the construction site in Bangkok underscored the widespread impact of the earthquake with the spillover effect felt beyond the country of Myanmar.
