New Jersey residents reported shaking Thursday afternoon that the United States Geological Survey says was a sonic boom - not an earthquake.
The USGS said the sonic boom was recorded near Hammonton, N.J. - about a half-hour south of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
“What we saw was something that was not consistent with an earthquake,†said William Yeck, a geophysicist with the USGS.
The Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, however, said the base did not hold exercises Thursday.
“We’ve also received reports of ground shaking here in South Jersey. We do not have any aircraft capable of producing a sonic boom and our training ranges are currently clear of operations,†according to a statement from the joint base on Facebook.
John Bellini, geophysicist with the USGS, initially said the shaking could have been from an earthquake or a sonic boom from a jet but “I don’t know.â€
He said the USGS was investigating to determine what happened.
“We’ve gotten reports all the way from Long Island all the way down to southern New Jersey,†he said.
Karen Wall, a Patch editor who lives in Berkeley, reported feeling a rumbling like â€a large truck passing by on the street, strong enough to rattle the house.†The region had five loud rumbles that finally stopped
http://patch.com/new-jersey/bloomfield/s/fkpeq/update-no-earthquake-sonic-boom-shakes-n-j-usgs-says
A number of barrier island residents reported that tremors had their homes shaking on Thursday afternoon which quickly sparked talk of an earthquake, though officials at the U.S. Geological Survey say it was likely a sonic boom caused by a military jet.
“Probable sonic boom,†the agency said on its website. “First of multiple over the following hour after this event. Reported from southern New Jersey along the Eastern Seaboard to Long Island, N.Y.â€
According to Newsday, a southern New Jersey USGS station reported the first sound wave in New Jersey at about 1:23 p.m.; shortly after, the shock waves were felt as far north as Long Island and Connecticut.
“While on the phone, my front door started shuttering for no apparent reason,†Point Lookout resident Donna Brown said on Facebook. “And it happened more than once! It just happened again and I am now in a different room! It doesn’t seem all that windy for this to be happening! Anyone else?â€
Newsday reports that previous military flights along the East Coast have caused similar confusion when exceeding the speed of sound.
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