The end of the world is nothing new. An impending sense of doom, everytime their is a natural disaster, is very natural. I think witnesses think that they have some special knowledge that no one else can understand. It is easily understandable however, and always has been by the masses. Civilizations have come and gone, since recorded history began. What's different now, is that we are livivng in a global world.
The Mayans predicted the end in 2012. This is not a matter of hocus pocus. The ancients had a great deal of atronomical data which can pinpoint certain epochs in plantary allingment, called processional cycles. As we conclude the age of picses, we enter the age of aquarious and a state of planetary allignment the likes of which occurs, every 12,000 years or so.
Planetary allingment means disruption of the earths magnetic core, in which case, the earths magnetic core, may actually stop rotating for almost 3 days to one week. This will cause untold destruction of the entire earth. But not to worry, this has all happened before, and will happen over and over again. Every time we reach a peak of knowledge civilization must start over. That is precisely how Atlantis disappeared.
What we are witnessing now ( no pun intended) is the early stages of this magnetic core disruption. Increase in temperature changes, more earthquakes, and in the end, a complete pole shift, in which all will be destroyed and have to start over again. It is nothing new. Don't worry