Perhaps one of the only benefits of experiencing a massive earthquake —like the 7.0 tremor that hit Mexico City and other regions of the country last night– is the rare spectacle of ‘Earth lights’ that occurs during or after the event. In the video below (starting at 1:34) you can enjoy the bizarre footage captured by some of the startled citizens with their cellphones, after they left their homes or offices in a hurry.
Skeptics sometimes attempt to explain these atmospheric phenomena as a result of exploding electrical transformers or thunderstorms, but ‘Earth lights’ –which are sometimes mistaken for UFOs– have slowly moved away from the realm of folklore to the field of legitimate science, as described by this article published on New Scientist when a similar earthquake hit Mexico City exactly four years ago –perhaps those clever debunkers should try and explain to us instead why these tectonic movements are happening with such terrifying regularity over Mexico?*
Understanding Earth lights and their connection to seismic activity could not only help us to better predict major earthquakes, but it might also allow us to understand their cultural influence –even in our religions.
Take for example what happened in the Mexican town of Ocotlán, Jalisco, on October 3rd 1847, a day after a massive earthquake toppled many buildings and killed 40 people: during an outdoor mass two thousand witnesses observed in the sky, for approximately thirty minutes, what they described as a vision of the crucified Jesus Christ. In 1911 the Archdiocese of Guadalajara deemed the event as a true prodigy and approved the religious celebrations in honor of “the Lord of Mercy.”
Could Earth lights be behind this ‘miracle’? It is a question not meant to insult religious beliefs, but increase our understanding of the wonders of Nature –something the Lord would surely not object to.
(*): On that same year and month (September 2017) there was another killer earthquake which coincided with the anniversary of the tremor of September 19th 1985, which devastated large areas of Mexico City and killed thousands of civilians.