An unusual mass migration of toads in Jiangsu province, similar phenomenon had occurred in Mianzhu, in Sichuan, where over 10,000 people now lie buried in rubble.

'8'- what's the connection to quake in China

(Reuters report)
Earthquakes were a sensitive topic in imperial China, where they traditionally signalled the end of a corrupt dynasty. The Tangshan earthquake of 1976 killed up to 300,000 people less than two months before Mao Zedong died.

Eight is normally a lucky number for Chinese, but the earthquake came 88 days before the 2008 Olympic Games were slated to start in Beijing on the 8th of the eighth month at 8 pm.

Despite few precedents for reliably predicted earthquakes, many Chinese expect government scientists should have made some progress since the Tangshan disaster.