A loud boom sound was reported from many areas in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon with speculations rife among the public even as officials in disaster monitoring centre clarifying that there was no earthquake.
The sound was reported from eastern and south-eastern parts of Bengaluru with many reporting that even the windows rattled during the 'sonic boom'-like-sound heard at around 1:15 pm.
At Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), there was a flurry of activities after officials started getting calls from KR Puram, Whitefield and surrounding areas. On social media, many reported similar incident from Indiranagar to HSR Layout, Attibele, Chandapura and other areas.
The activity reported in Bengaluru is not due to an Earthquake. The Seismometers did not capture any Ground Vibration as generally happens during a mild Tremor. The activity is purely a loud unknown noise.
— KSNDMC (@KarnatakaSNDMC) May 20, 2020
The sound could be some other geological phenomenon which the KSNDMC along with Mines and geology officials are ascertaining the nature and exact location of the sound that was heard, said G S Shrinivas Reddy, director of KSNDMC.
Officials at the seismic activity monitoring wing of the KSNDMC said their no ground motion has been recorded. "Our seismometers have not recorded any spike, which means an earthquake is not the source of the sound. The Seismometers capture vibrations of even mild tremor," an official said.
There were speculations about the boom being caused by testing of a fighter jet. However, KSNDMC officials said they could not confirm the same. "We do not monitor ultrasonic activities. Hence it would be difficult to pinpoint the source of the sound," an official said.
"Aftershock (from maybe tremor/ earthquake) observed in Bengaluru. It felt like a sonic boom. Did anyone else experience it?" tweeted a Bengaluru resident under the name Sai Krishna (@imSkrishnaaa)
Aftershock (from maybe tremor/ earthquake) observed in Bengaluru. It felt like a sonic boom. Did anyone else experience it?#Bengaluru @ForeverBLRU @WeAreBangalore #Earthquake
— Sai Krishna (@imSkrishnaaa) May 20, 2020
Several others across the city also felt the tremors:
Felt a jerk and the windows rattled.... In Kadubeesanahalli #Bengaluru #tremor
— Neeshima Pushpakaran (@Neeshima5) May 20, 2020
Anyone else felt the tremor in Bangalore n Experienced a slight earthquake today #earthquake #bangalorelockdown #corona @tv9kannada @publictvnews @DgpKarnataka @TOIBengaluru #Bengaluru #StayHomeStaySafe
— vijay singh (@virru007) May 20, 2020
Yes. Heard & felt it at Hagaduru, #whitefield
— Pratik Vora (@pratikrvora) May 20, 2020
Looks like a tremor. Waiting to discover what was it.