Rolling mats crawl through subway stations in China, forming a thick black carpet that has raised fears of earthquakes.
A zither appeared at the exit of a subway station on Yingfeng Road in Xiaoshan district, Hangzhou, China on August 7, according to Zhejiang Daily. In the video recorded by eyewitnesses, thousands of black mats crawled on top of each other, covering the floor tiles.
“The mat crawls along the benches and forms a 200m-long line,” a reporter confirmed.
Some feared the overflowing mat could be a sign of an earthquake, but experts have dismissed this suspicion. Professor Xue Zhihong from the agriculture department of Zhejiang University of Agriculture and Forestry said the millipedes are a common group of arthropods.
“This is a species that is very common in rural areas. They live underground in moist conditions. They breed in large numbers in the summer, so I don’t think this is an earthquake sign,” he said. Xue said.
Although the millipedes appear in large herds and invade parts of the city, many die in the intense sunlight. The millipedes are usually dark brown in color and about 2-3cm long. They are believed to have emerged from the grasslands near the train station.
The millipedes are usually dark brown in color and about 2-3cm long.
A security guard shared the mats that often crawled out in the early morning and evening. “The scene was terrible. Many girls passing by shouted when they saw so many mats,” the guard said.