Strange things were happening in the countryside in northeast Hebei. For three days the water in the village wells rose and fell, rose and fell. Farmers noticed that the well walls had deep cracks in them. A smelly gas came out of the cracks. In the farm-yards, the chickens and even the pigs were too nervous to eat. Mice ran out of the fields looking for places to hide. Fish jumped out of bowls and ponds. At about 3:00 am on July 28, 1976, people saw bright lights in the sky. The sound of planes could be heard outside Tangshan even when no planes were in the sky. In the city, the water pipes in some buildings cracked and burst. But the one million people of the city, who thought little of these events, went to bed as usual that night.

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