On Monday, April 29th at 10:15 pm EST, the residents of Hampstead, Surf City and Holly Ridge felt the Earth shake. Reports started coming in within minutes of the event where people stated hearing a loud boom or odd vibration sound, followed by ground moving beneath their feet, homes being jolted as though they had been hit by a vehicle and insects suddenly getting very quiet and dogs acting strange. These statements were repeated on social media. Many people familiar with the military operations in the area thought it felt different. So, could it have been an earthquake? No official report has been released with the detection of ground movement by the US Geological Society, but could a tremor still have happened? The answer is yes. Steve Pfaff, director of the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina provided us with a few options that may have caused the sensation of the ground shaking on Monday, April 29th.
In our phone interview, Mr. Pfaff stated that the first step after an event like this is to rule out causes. Was it a weather event? Based on his research, there were no weather events in the area that contributed to this. Could it have been a military operation off the coast? Possible, but in most cases the planes that would cause such a “jolt” would leave behind a cloud on radar caused by Chaff. What is a chaff cloud? It is best described as radar reflective materials, such as aluminum strips or glass fibers. No chaff cloud was detected. Could it have been a meteor entering our atmosphere? Possible but to date no substantiating reports have come in. Could it have been an underwater landslide? This is a possible event but would need to be supported by visual comparison of underwater area maps. Could it have been an underwater cave collapse? Again, this is a possibility but currently there is no supporting information.
Similar events have been reported in the area, mostly during the fall to spring seasons. October 2014, April 2016 and January 2020 were dates that Mr. Pfaff could recall.
Do major earthquakes happen in our area? Not too far south, Charleston, South Carolina suffered from a major earthquake in 1886. A witness to that event stated that he heard a series of loud booms for over four hours before that catastrophic event.
In the last few weeks, New Jersey and New York City residents have experienced an earthquake that registered a 4.8 on the Richter scale and up to 60 aftershocks. Like the coastal area of North Carolina, these events are not considered typical by the residents.