The video, first posted on Facebook by a resident of North Batukliang district, has sparked worries that the earthworms are an early indicator of an earthquake.  

West Nusa Tenggara was hit by a series of major earthquakes between July and August 2018, resulting in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of damaged buildings. The province is still recovering from the aftermath of the quake.

North Batukliang Police chief First Insp. Komang Ronaka confirmed that the incident in the video did indeed take place. “The event took place in Bagek Nunggal village,” Komang said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Mataram Geophysics Station head Ardhianto Septiadhi, however, denied that the incident signaled a possible earthquake

“It was not accompanied by other precursors of earthquakes such as barking dogs, fish jumping in ponds and snakes coming out,” he said.

He said the sudden appearance of the worms was related to sudden changes in weather and climate.

 

Nevertheless, Ardhianto asked the public to remain vigilant as Lombok was a quake-prone area. (aly)