On May 9, 2008, three days before the earthquake in Sichuan Province occurred, Sichuan government in its website posted an article reporting that the Earthquake Bureau in Aba Prefecture successfully quelled an earthquake rumor. The article revealed that the bureau received a telephone inquiry asking if it is true that an earthquake was about to occur. The local government immediately identified the source of the rumor and clarified the rumor was a misunderstanding of a telephone conference about geological disasters. The article was removed after the earthquake happened but the picture was captured and circulated on the Internet.
Source: Boxun, May 12, 2008
http://peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2008/05/200805121812.shtml