Strange sounds heard after earthquakes in West texas

After reading about the recent earthquakes in west texas, I found an article from a city in that area and the residents reported a strange sound after the earthquakes that resembled a "sonic boom". Now please forgive me, as I am not an expert or authority on earthquakes, but is this common? I would suppose as the earth is moving and shifting underneath, there would be a rumbling sound as the tectonic plates rub against each other and such. But the way this is described is that it came from the sky. I thought I would post this to see what others thought, and if there have been other cases like this. Thank you, and have a great day!

www.kwes.com...

Thank you this is really interesting.

I am going to quote you over in the W Tx eq thread, because this is very interesting.

Also, I will help you find more reports for this incident for listing in this thread you have created focusing on the 'sounds'.

This is very compelling, I wonder what the solution will be?

(Of course first guess is jet aircraft, but what if it's something else?)

Here is a link to the w Tx eq thread.

There have been at least 9 eq's there within a few days time. This is quite rare.

reply to post by muzzleflash


I have found some interesting things about other booms heard before and after earthquakes. This is interesting to me as well. Thank you for your help!

www.terraresearch.net...

From your article:

But it's not just the earthquake that has some scared, it's the noise that comes along with it.

"We could hear a roar. The earthquake lasted like a minute but the noise lasted longer," Robertson said.

"If you're old enough to remember the sonic booms. It resembled a sonic boom," Westmoreland said.

Very strange.

I wonder if anyone measured the decibel level of this 'sound'?

Residents are a little concerned because they have never had this many earthquakes in such a short period of time.

"Why are we getting them? There has been a few over the years. But if there really has been multiple ones in the last 24 hours, sure that's kind of bothersome," Robertson said.

I wanna know some answers too. It's really anomalous.

reply to post by Veritas1


Thank you for keeping me updated!

I will review your link about these other incidents where sounds were reported.

Tyvm.

reply to post by Veritas1


My reply from Muzzleflash's thread, where he linked this one:

Before thinking it is a "sonic boom" i would think it would be either one of the massive tanks (or the top of a massive tank) making a bang. Those tank lids float on the contents (usually oil), and if there is an earthquake the lid can bang against the side, making a huge booming sound heard for miles.

As well, there could be a tank battery explode or something.

KWES, the link provided, is my local NBC affiliate. They, honestly, or among the most amateurish TV stations known to man full of completely forgettable reporters that are staffed by what seems to be a lazy susan

To the above I would add that unless you feel the "boom" in the ground, it would seem to insinuate that the sound is coming from above ground. If it were the crust making this sound (which i could imagine could happen) you would also feel it. Like dropping a bowling ball on the ground.

Minor quake gives area jolt
Magnitude 4.4 doesn't cause damage

* By Matthew Waller
* San Angelo Standard Times
* Posted September 12, 2011 at 9:06 p.m., updated September 12, 2011 at 10:12 p.m.


www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/sep/12/minor-quake-gives-area-jolt/

(...)

"I felt the house shake," area resident Bill Nance said.

He was working on his Sunday morning crossword puzzle when he noticed doors trembling. He wasn't sure if it was an earthquake or an explosion or even a sonic boom because of the three-second duration.

"It was very short," Nance said. "I've been in many, many earthquakes."

He said he had been on the West Coast and in Japan where earthquakes came almost daily.

(...)

Hmm, so are they thinking this Eq "boom" sound may be related to volcanic activity?

You know, I was actually discussing this as a possibility with my wife yesterday.

She mentioned "what if the fault line is active because a new volcano is forming?"

This would not be unprecedented either. Paricutin volcano Mexico

The volcano began as a fissure in a cornfield owned by a P'urhépecha farmer, Dionisio Pulido, on February 20, 1943. Pulido, his wife, and their son all witnessed the initial eruption of ash and stones first-hand as they ploughed the field. The volcano grew quickly, reaching five stories tall in just a week, and it could be seen from afar in a month.

I am not saying this is what is happening. I am merely speculating on what possibilities we may be dealing with here.

I do admit the odds of a volcanic fissure forming in this location is ultra-rare and would have to be one of the most bizarre geological events in known history - if it happened.

Of course I have doubts about this hypothesis, as there are alternative hypothesis which are potentially more valid or likely.

Fracking, drought causing aquifers to empty, natural fault-line tectonics, etc.

Many theories, so very little data to help determine which one is the best.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by Veritas1

 

Before thinking it is a "sonic boom" i would think it would be either one of the massive tanks (or the top of a massive tank) making a bang. Those tank lids float on the contents (usually oil), and if there is an earthquake the lid can bang against the side, making a huge booming sound heard for miles.

As well, there could be a tank battery explode or something.

Thanks for the suggestion. You could be right, that's just another hypothesis to the list.

I would have to say that this would be a 'more likely explanation' due to the simplicity of it. Good work BigFFT

Also thanks for the heads up about the news station. I am not surprised that you suggest they are very amateurish and struggling. Kudos for them actually getting around to reporting these quake events and go interview some locals, that can improve their standing if they keep it up and stay on the ball here and provide more information.

Having just lived through several big quakes and over 8,000 aftershocks I can tell you that a big boom before a quake, sometimes accompanying it depending on where the epicentre was in terms of your location, is nothing unusual. It is the eeriest and most awful sound you've ever heard, and once you know what it is (after so many shocks) you get used to it.

Okay, this sounds like my sort of thread.

I live in Christchurch so i'm accustomed to Earthquakes so lets just clear somethings up.

Earthquakes can be heard coming
They can create very loud rumbles
There is a phenomena of which a fault line ruptures at the perfect speed to break the sound barrier (Source: NatGeo or Discovery's Perfect 10 Earthquake program)
The earthquake follows the rumbling
Sounds after the earthquake are USUALLY the objects effected by the earthquake still moving.

Now im not debunking this at all, because i highly doubt this earthquake was natural. If anything i believe it could have actually been a jet.

I used to live in the UK on an RAF base camp and just before the airshow time of the year where they would all fly in to the base and operate out of it, we had the Eurofighter Typhoon come and land. The Typhoon was displaying for the first time and the pilot was still getting the feel for it. The aircraft itself was still fairly new and whilst flying over Shrewsbury, the local city, a computer malfunction and caused it to descend and break the sound barrier. The city experienced shaking and a loud rumble so maybe, just maybe it's something like that. Here's the news report.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by jjjtir


Well that is just flat out a lie. I have damage to my home in Arkansas from the quakes that have happened here and a very expensive engineers report to prove it. In fact there are several that have filed lawsuits against the gas companies for the quakes they have caused and the damage that they have caused.

the small quakes seem to be occurring in random places in the US.
Me wonders if it is related to the recent search for natural gas,, fracking process.

reply to post by muzzleflash


NewsWest9 does a GREAT job of covering the smaller, outlying areas. Anaelli Ruiz, the reporter that covers my town, is a friend of mine and despite being young, she has potential.

This could be anything. The entire area is basically limestone covered with caliche and very iron rich red clay. All the fracing (note, the correct spelling ) could VERY easily have eroded the limestone in unnatural ways. I seriously do expect to see the sinkhole phenomenon increase because of it.

BTW, for those intersted in fracing, you should look at what happened to the lake in Big Lake, TX. That is a real world consequence that, right about now, looks like a major folly.

reply to post by Lil Drummerboy


They aren't fracking in Alabama so that is the oddball out of the bunch. It was right at a hospital though. You know the buildings are not designed and up to earthquake codes in the south and a major problem.

Originally posted by SusanFrey
reply to post by jjjtir

 

Well that is just flat out a lie. I have damage to my home in Arkansas from the quakes that have happened here and a very expensive engineers report to prove it. In fact there are several that have filed lawsuits against the gas companies for the quakes they have caused and the damage that they have caused.

FWIW, (and i have a thread about it here somewhere) i lived about 1/4 mile from a local refinery when a propane tank that was leaking exploded. The house i was in was severely damaged by the earthquake it caused (all from the downward blast of the propane explosion). Roof was lifted off, stairstep cracks up opposite corners, the foundation cracked severely in multiple places.

I was in the shower when it happened. Every door in the house shook open, and i fell out of the shower. It also flattened my tires on my Tahoe, as it shook across the driveway and ripped the tires loose from the rim.

reply to post by SusanFrey


no kidding. i live in the area discussed in the OP. The building i work in (my office is in the basement) is a 15 story building built over the course of a single year in 1929.

I am more than happy to be in dallas for the week. Far away from West Texas.

reply to post by Veritas1


OMG I am not in Texas but I just heard this too! I swear I thought we here in the DC area were under attack, I even held my breath and braced my self there momentarily waiting for impact, it had a small whistling sound too, shortly after a helicopter must of gone past cause I heard a strong sound of the blades and the apartment shook a little bit. I really did think we were under attack, I thought a nuke or something was targeted to the DC area. Oh thank God it wasn't that but now I am left wondering what WAS that? Literally it was only minutes ago that I heard it. Even my neighbor came out. Like usual I came here to ATS to see if anyone had heard the same

Originally posted by ISis12RA12ELohim
reply to post by Veritas1

 

OMG I am not in Texas but I just heard this too! I swear I thought we here in the DC area were under attack, I even held my breath and braced my self there momentarily waiting for impact, it had a small whistling sound too, shortly after a helicopter must of gone past cause I heard a strong sound of the blades and the apartment shook a little bit. I really did think we were under attack, I thought a nuke or something was targeted to the DC area. Oh thank God it wasn't that but now I am left wondering what WAS that? Literally it was only minutes ago that I heard it. Even my neighbor came out. Like usual I came here to ATS to see if anyone had heard the same

edit on 9/13/2011 by ISis12RA12ELohim because: (no reason given)

And we haven't had an earthquake today, so it's not related to that, at least not on our end.

Were the sounds similar to the ones in this vid from Colorado?