Earthworms crawled out of the soil in slimy droves in several Central Java locations over the weekend, with one possible explanation being that they were driven out by disinfectants sprayed around their habitat to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The earthworms reportedly squiggled out in hair-raising numbers over the weekend in Sokocangsi village, which is located in the Jatinom sub-district of Central Java’s Klaten regency.
“Because a lot of disinfectants were sprayed everywhere, the fertility of the soil [was impacted] so it disturbed the earthworms, making them crawl out,” Jatinom sub-district head Rahayu told Kompas yesterday.
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Rahayu has instructed the village head not to kill the earthworms as they help keep the soil fertile. She also instructed for the spraying of disinfectants to cease.
A similar phenomenon was also reported around Gede Market in Solo City, Central Java on Saturday morning.
Prabang Setyono, an environmental expert from Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Solo, believes that the emergence of the earthworms could be a natural phenomenon and not the fault of disinfectants. He said that recent volcanic activity in the area may have heated up the soil and thus decreasing moisture essential to the worms’ survival.
Central Java is home to Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano.
Some have also suggested that the worms’ emergence may be a sign of impending tectonic activity, but the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said that there is insufficient evidence to back that claim thus far.
There are no reports yet if the worms are still out and about crawling or if they have returned to their homes in the soil.
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