The mass beaching of more than 150 melon-headed whales on Japan's shores has triggered fear of a repeat devastating earthquake that killed 19,000 people in 2011 in Japan.
Despite a lack of scientific evidence linking the two events, a burst of online commentators have pointed to the appearance of around 50 melon-headed whales on Japan's beaches six days before the monster quake, which released a towering tsunami and triggered a nuclear disaster.
To add to the fear, it was noted that more than 100 pilot whales died in a mass beaching on a remote New Zealand beach on February 20, 2011, two days before a large quake hit the country's second-largest city Christchurch.
Japanese officials have however tried to calm fears, and have insisted there is no scientific data to prove the link.
