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On Monday, San Diego residents took to social media to report that they heard and felt loud “booms” in certain parts of the city.
The first instance was reportedly heard around 4PM local time as Twitter user @christasleeve noted that their “whole house shook” before they heard a loud boom and thought someone had crashed into the side of their house:
A second boom reportedly took place sometime after 4:30 PM local time as Twitter user @mexipino78 tweeted around 4:38PM that their backyard sliding door in Otay Mesa was shaking “five minutes ago”:
The mysterious boom sparked major concern online as some speculated it to be an earthquake, while others thought it was a sonic boom. However, both theories were eventually debunked. Reddit user @/TestFlyJets noted that the duration of the San Diego booms were “way too long to be sonic boom.”
They noted that the duration was a “solid 3-5 seconds in La Jolla.” Meanwhile, user @Markqz said that sonic booms can last longer if “a jet is coming downwards while traveling at supersonic speeds” or if more than one jet is involved in the boom.”
The former then replied saying “that’s really not how sonic booms work” and mentioned that shock waves would be independent of one another if multiple jets were involved in the boom:
The United States Geological Survey also confirmed that it has not reported any earthquakes in the area. According to NBC San Diego, the organization mentioned that the closest earthquake to the city shook 350 miles away in Bishop, California.
Netizens take to Twitter to react to the mysterious San Diego booms
San Diego residents reportedly heard loud and mysterious booms around different parts of the city on Monday. The sounds also sparked concerns of earthquakes, sonic booms, and military operations online.
Several residents also took to Twitter to share their concerns and experiences following the booms:
As per Patch, Cpl. Shaina Jupiter of Camp Pendleton said that the base was conducting routine live fire ammunition training but failed to confirm if the sound of the booms came from the base.
The camp also informed the public that “explosions that may be amplified and heard up to 50 miles away” between February 25 and March 5.
Camp Pendleton spokesperson 1st Lt. Taylor M. Dorsey (Schrick) told FOX 5:
“Although I cannot confirm the exact noise, booms or shakes you are referring to and its cause, but here at Camp Pendleton we are conducting routine live-fire training with high explosive munitions that may be heard throughout any time of the day.”
Kevin Dixon from Naval Base Coronado stated that their base was not involved in any operation or activity that could have resulted in the mysterious booms.
However, the U.S. Marine Corps confirmed that they were conducting explosive munitions training on base between 6:00 AM and midnight on Monday, but could not say if the booms between around 3:00 PM and 4:30 PM came from their activity.
