Doomsday-style warnings erupted online on Friday as a string of powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela, California, Japan and several other regions in less than 24 hours, leaving hundreds dead in South America and stoking claims from fringe Christian groups that the tremors herald a looming 'end of days.'
The alarm followed two deadly quakes in Venezuela that killed hundreds and left thousands missing, according to local reports, alongside major seismic events in California and off the coast of Japan. The California quake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, was the state's strongest in more than 90 years, while Japan was rattled by a 7.2-magnitude tremor. Further earthquakes, between 4.5 and 5.1 in strength, were also logged in Guadeloupe, Pakistan, Alaska and the Philippines.
