This is the skin-crawling moment thousands of worms emerged from the ground, sparking earthquake fears in Taiwan.

Mi Jiang was walking in her neighbourhood when she discovered blue earthworms scattered on the surface in Changzhi, Pingtung, on October 27.

Footage shows some of the soil-dwelling terrestrial invertebrates wriggling on the ground.

The filmer said: 'I saw earthworms all over the floor and along the path. I am clueless about what is going on. It's too terrible.'

Locals theorised a connection between earthquakes and the worms, believing that their appearance on the surface could indicate imminent violent shaking of the ground.

However, this speculation was dismissed by the Central Weather Administration, which said that the phenomenon is not directly related to earthquakes.

Researchers said that there is no significant correlation between the presence of earthworms crawling out of the ground and seismic events. Earthworms are more likely to emerge in large numbers at night or early in the morning when it is cool and dewy.