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Columbia, South Carolina: Earthquake, explosion or thunder? Loud boom leaves people confused
A loud boom was heard in Columbia South Carolina on Thursday, leaving people confused about what caused it. The USGS later updated that it was a ‘sonic boom’.
A loud boom was heard in Columbia, in South Carolina on Thursday, leaving people confused about what caused it. WACH reported that the ‘loud boom’ was heard and felt across the Midlands around 5:30pm.
The publication added that viewers had reported hearing it from North Augusta to Darlington County. The two places are about 145 miles (232 km) apart.
A meteorologist for WLTX wrote on Facebook “Anyone else near Columbia hear/feel that?,” and added “We’re working to figure it out.”
Another person asked on X “Earthquake? Or thunder? Im leaning earthquake. But it honestly felt more like an explosion here near Lexington, SC.” To this the National Weather Service (NWS) Columbia account replied “We also heard and felt the boom here at the airport, nothing showing yet on the usgs earthquake map though.”
Meanwhile, another person shared a video where the boom could be heard. You can check out the video here. “Got some video with sound of the boom from my friend Ryan Turiak’s camera on top his hanger at Hamilton-Owens Downtown Airport in Columbia. Definitely not an earthquake,” they wrote.
Yet another person said that people from Sumter, Camden, Blythwood to Lexington heard it, conveying the sound was incredibly loud. Sumter is the furthest from Columbia and is about 44.3 miles (71.3 km) away.
While a clear answer to what happened has not been given yet, the US Geological Survey provided an update. “Notable quake, preliminary info: M 0.0 Sonic Boom - 6 km NNE of Saint Andrews, South Carolina,” they wrote on X. Since USGS equipment is not calibrated to measure the magnitude of such an event, it was given a 0.0 magnitude. Sonic booms are caused by a shockwave when an object passes at the speed of sound, and the US Air Force states this is about 750 miles per hour at sea level. A cause for the ‘sonic boom’ was not provided.
Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base are nearby, but the former told WLTX that they were unaware of the cause, while the latter did not respond.
Both NASA and the American Meteor Society told the publication they were looking into the matter.
Reactions to loud sound in the Midlands
One person asked if there was a sonic boom. “Sonic boom over West Columbia?,” they wrote on X. Another page described that houses were shaking due to the sound.
“Massive bang just heard throughout the Midlands region of South Carolina. Houses shook downtown and a shock wave hit Irmo, S.C. at approximately 5:24 p.m. EDT,” the page noted.
Yet another person shared ring camera footage and wrote “Loud boom heard through out the Midlands of South Carolina! You can hear the loud boom on my Nest camera! Crazy! Typically you can’t hear this kind of stuff. Insane this wasn’t an earthquake.” You can see the video here.
On Facebook too, people shared their experiences. “Yep…standing in downtown heard a crazy loud explosion. My wife heard and felt it out near the airport,” a person said. Another added “Heard and felt it in West Columbia behind Lexmed. Felt like something hit the building.”
Yet another said “Yes, heard it. Shook my house and upset my three dogs; barking like crazy!”. However, authorities are yet to officially confirm the source of the sound that has left many across the Midlands puzzled.
