Lu Zhenghai, right, walks near his ark-like vessel. Lu Zhenghai is one of at least two men in China predicting a world-ending flood, come Dec. 21, and has spent his life savings building the 70-foot-by-50-foot vessel powered by three diesel engines. | AP

Foliage frames the Bugarach mountain peak in southern France, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. The Internet has helped feed the frenzy, spreading rumors that a mountain in the French Pyrenees is hiding an alien spaceship that will be the sole escape from the destruction. French authorities are blocking access to Bugarach peak from Dec. 19-23 except for the village's 200 residents "who want to live in peace," the local prefect said in a news release. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)

This June 24, 2011 photo shows the Bugarach mountain peak in southern France. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. The Internet has helped feed the frenzy, spreading rumors that a mountain in the French Pyrenees is hiding an alien spaceship that will be the sole escape from the destruction. French authorities are blocking access to Bugarach peak from Dec. 19-23 except for the village's 200 residents "who want to live in peace," the local prefect said in a news release. (AP Photo)

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2012 file photo, people raise their hands during a ceremony by Mayan sages in Bacuranao, Cuba. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. In Mexico's Mayan heartland, nobody is preparing for the end of the world; instead, they're bracing for a tsunami of spiritual visitors. Jose Manrique Esquivel, a descendent of the Maya, said his community in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula sees the date as a celebration of their survival despite centuries of genocide and oppression. He blamed profiteers looking to scam the gullible for stoking doomsday fears. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)

FILE - In this June 19, 2011 file photo, Maya Indian Jose Erenesto Campos prays during a Maya ceremony in honor of the upcoming summer solstice at the Maya archeological site of Tazumal in Chalchuapa, El Salvador. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. In Mexico's Mayan heartland, nobody is preparing for the end of the world; instead, they're bracing for a tsunami of spiritual visitors. Even the U.S. space agency NASA intervened, posting a nearly hour-long YouTube video debunking apocalyptic points one by one. (AP Photo/Luis Romero, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2011 file photo, Mayan priests pray during a ceremony marking the Mayan solar new year in Guatemala City. From Russia to California, thousands are preparing for the fateful day, when many believe a 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar supposedly comes to an end. The Maya didn't say much about what would happen next, but into that void have rushed occult writers, bloggers and New Age visionaries foreseeing all manner of monumental change. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)

In this photo taken Nov. 24, 2012, Lu Zhenghai, right, walks near his ark-like vessel under construction in China's northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Lu Zhenghai is one of at least two men in China predicting a world-ending flood, come Dec. 21, the fateful day many believe the Maya set as the conclusion of their 5,125-year long-count calendar. Zhenghai has spent his life savings building the 70-foot-by-50-foot vessel powered by three diesel engines, according to state media. In Mexico's Mayan heartland, nobody is preparing for the end of the world; instead, they're bracing for a tsunami of spiritual visitors. (AP Photo/ANPF-Chen Jiansheng)