Giant ‘Doomsday fish’ washes ashore in South America sparking claims of an impending disaster: ‘Not a good omen’
A rare, 16-foot sea creature which has been tied to natural disasters around the world has washed ashore in South America, sparking claims that a giant earthquake could soon hit the seismically active region.
Referred to in Japanese folklore as ‘Doomsday fish,’ the giant oarfish was found on a beach in Mejillones in northern Chile on Tuesday.
The sea serpent which is rarely ever seen by humans has been mentioned in Asian legends since the 1600s, which have interpreted the sightings as warnings from mythical deities.
Despite scientists finding no significant link between the fish and natural disasters, many have tied their appearances on beaches to deadly earthquakes or tsunamis that happen weeks or months later.
The latest Doomsday fish sighting comes amid a string of major earthquakes throughout South America and the Caribbean, which has caused some to fear Chile or even the vulnerable US West Coast could be next.
One person claimed: ‘Not a good omen.’ Another alleged: ‘An earthquake is coming to the north.’
Even geophysicist Stefan Burns, who has predicted that a major earthquake could strike the California Coast by 2030, responded to the sighting, saying: ‘Here we go again.’
At least two other Doomsday fish sightings have taken place in 2026, with each one being followed by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions just days later.
A 16-foot oarfish, also known as a Doomsday fish, was discovered on a beach in northern Chile on October 20
Doomsday fish, also known as oarfish and sea serpents, typically swim 3,000 feet below the ocean surface, making sightings on shore rare (File Image)
On August 25, a dead Doomsday fish washed up on an Indonesian beach along the southeastern coast of Komodo Island.
Just six days later, six volcanoes erupted or showed signs of eruptive activity across Indonesia at the same time.
In early October, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake also struck the same region. No injuries and deaths were reported after each incident.
In late February, a pair of American tourists had a ‘one-in-a-billion chance’ encounter when two live oarfish washed ashore on a beach in Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas.
Seeing two oarfish at the same time is considered almost unheard of because the species lives in the deep ocean, typically at depths greater than 3,000 feet in the so-called ‘Twilight zone’ – one of the least explored parts of the planet.
Following that shocking discovery, a magnitude 4.1 earthquake was detected less than 15 miles from Cabo San Lucas on March 23. No injuries or major damage was reported.
Since then, the region has been battered by multiple hurricanes, including Polo, Simon and Rachel in September and October – causing flooding, landslides and fatalities along the Pacific coast.
In Chile, the last major earthquake struck the coast just over one year ago on October 10, 2025. A magnitude 7.6 quake struck the Drake Passage just south of the country and set off tsunami alerts along the South American and Antarctic coasts.
The oarfish’s appearance quickly fueled ominous claims online that it was a warning of an impending natural disaster or other catastrophe
‘The earthquake is coming!’ one commenter claimed after the Marine Fauna Research and Cetacean Watching Center in Chile announced the discovery on social media Tuesday.
Despite the coincidental timing of the sea serpent’s arrival on beaches, a 2019 study found no legitimate connection to the creatures being a herald of doom.
A team from Tokai University in Japan examined 336 reports of deep-sea fish appearances and 221 earthquakes stronger than magnitude 6.0 around the country between 1928 and 2011.
Their findings, published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, did not find a statistically significant link between the appearances of Doomsday fish and natural disasters, calling the myth an ‘illusory correlation’ rather than a reliable warning sign.
In the US, a 2018 study published in the Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences had found that there were only 19 oarfish strandings or sightings along the California coast over the last century.
Although scientists have claimed there is no connection to a future earthquake along the South American coast, Chile sits along one of the world’s most active tectonic boundaries capable of producing massive shockwaves.
The oceanic Nazca Plate has been steadily sliding under the South American Plate, which continues to build up the Andes Mountains, fuels volcanic activity and stores enormous stress along the two connecting plates.
