article_snippet.sent: The mass stranding of 160 melon-headed whales on two beaches in Japan has triggered fears of upcoming earthquake and tsunami.
article_snippet.sent: The fears appeared to be based on the appearance of 50 melon-headed whales six days before the devastating undersea earthquake in 2011 that caused a tsunami and left 19,000 people dead.
article_snippet.sent: The strandings in 2011 before the magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Japan is not the first association of whale strandings with tectonic activity.
article_snippet.sent: Around 100 pilot whales died in a mass stranding on a remote beach in New Zealand just two days before a large earthquake hit Christchurch in 2011.
article_snippet.sent: The 2004 Boxing Day earthquake in the Indian Ocean that also triggered a devastating tsunami also saw 170 whales stranded on beaches in Australia and New Zealand in the days before.
highlights_snippet.sent: The strandings sparked comparisons with the appearance of 50 melon-headed whales six days before the earthquake in 2011 that left 19,000 dead .
  