One claim of a successful short-range prediction was made by the Chinese government after the February 4, 1975, earthquake in Liaoning Province. According to reports, very few people were killed-even though more than 1 million lived near the epicenter-because the earthquake was predicted and the residents were evacuated. Some Western seismologists have questioned this claim and suggest instead that an intense swarm of foreshocks, which began 24 hours before the main earthquake, May have caused many people to evacuate of their own accord.