Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Oarfish Sighting Precedes Six Indonesian Volcanic Eruptions and Nepal Floods
A very large oarfish was found on a beach in Indonesia.
The fish was about 13 feet long and is rarely seen near the surface.
Some people believe oarfish warn of earthquakes, floods, or other disasters.
Scientists have not found evidence that the fish can predict disasters.
The next day, flash floods happened in Nepal.
Six days after the fish was found, six Indonesian volcanoes erupted almost at the same time.
Indonesia’s volcanic-hazard agency said the eruptions were not connected to the fish.
The events happened close together in time, but that does not prove that one caused the others.
A 13-foot oarfish was found on Indonesia’s Pink Beach on August 25.
Locals associated the rare deep-sea fish with disasters, though scientists have found no evidence supporting that belief.
Six Indonesian volcanoes erupted almost simultaneously on August 31, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
The agency’s head, Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati, said the eruptions were not linked to the oarfish.
Flash floods in Nepal occurred on August 26 and were reportedly caused by a glacial lake outburst.
- Who
- A group of children and an older man moved the oarfish; local officials and the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported on the events.
- What
- A 13-foot oarfish was found before floods in Nepal and six Indonesian volcanoes erupted.
- When
- The oarfish was found on August 25; Nepal’s floods occurred on August 26; the volcanic eruptions occurred on August 31.
- Where
- The fish was found at Pink Beach on Komodo Island, Indonesia; the eruptions occurred at Indonesian volcanoes; the floods occurred in Nepal.
- Why
- The oarfish raised concerns because folklore associates it with disasters, but the Indonesian volcanic-hazard agency said the eruptions were not linked to it.
Folklore and Local Concern
Scientific Explanation
Does the oarfish predict disasters?
Folklore and Local Concern
Oarfish are associated with doom and warnings in Japanese folklore, and some locals viewed the sighting as ominous because disasters followed.
Scientific Explanation
The article says there is no scientific evidence that oarfish sightings predict earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, or volcanic eruptions.
Were the eruptions connected to the fish?
Folklore and Local Concern
The close timing of the fish sighting and the six eruptions led to concerns about a possible connection.
Scientific Explanation
Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati, head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, stressed that the six eruptions were not linked.
- Fish length
- Approximately 13 feet
- Fish discovery
- Around 7:30 a.m. on August 25
- Discovery location
- Pink Beach, southeastern Komodo Island
- Volcanic eruptions
- Six occurred almost simultaneously on August 31
- Ash plume
- Mount Anak Krakatau sent ash up to 50,000 feet
- Nepal floods
- Occurred on August 26 and were reportedly caused by a glacial lake outburst
- Official assessment
- Siti Sumilah Rita Susilawati said the six eruptions were not linked