If not an earthquake, what could it be? Perhaps the so-called Seneca Guns. Those are mysterious noises often compared to rolling thunder or distant cannon fire frequently heard off the Cape Fear coast and the Myrtle Beach area. To date, no satisfactory scientific explanation for the phenomenon has been found. North Carolina's coast juts out into the Atlantic, essentially making it into a giant microphone. “You could be hearing stuff from well offshore."
Phone calls have poured in from across the Cape Fear reporting loud booms strong enough to shake the earth. The Marine Corp in Jacksonville says it's not playing war games out in the ocean. Sunny Point isn't claiming anything. The nuclear power plant is Brunswick County says its not responsible. There are no reports of any planes creating sonic booms. The Sheriff's Departments in New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick Counties are also getting reports of shaking, but don't know what the cause was. The explanation that many are now suggesting is the legend of the "Seneca Guns." Some believe the ghosts of the Seneca Indians are getting revenge by using the guns that Europeans used on them so many years ago.
Elbert Hubbard
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
11/7/10 -
5.0 SULAWESI, INDONESIA
5.4 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.1 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.0 NORTHERN ALASKA
VOLCANOES -
INDONESIA - Malaysia has moved to airlift hundreds of its nationals from Indonesia as Mount Merapi volcano continues its massive eruption. It sent three C-130 transport aircraft to Solo airport to collect 664 stranded Malaysians, many of them students. Some airlines have stopped flying to Jakarta over fears of ash damage. There was no sign of the eruption abating. 283,000 people have now been forced to flee. More than 130 people have died since Merapi began erupting two weeks ago, its greatest activity in a century. Victims were being given a mass burial in Yogyakarta on Sunday.
The infamously volatile mountain unleashed its most powerful eruption on Friday, sending hot clouds of gas, rocks and debris down its slopes at frightening speeds, smothering entire villages and leaving a trail of charred corpses. Frustration among air travellers was growing. US President Barack Obama is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on 9 November for a long-expected visit. White House officials said on Saturday there was no sign so far of any disruption to his schedule.
PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded Sunday increased seismic activity at Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon province, 24 hours after the active volcano spewed a 600-meter ash column and grayish steam last Saturday. State volcanologists noted that at least 10 volcanic earthquakes and four explosion-type events have been documented subsequent to the emission of ash and steam at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Since 2 p.m. on Saturday, visual monitoring of the volcano's other activities were being obscured by thick clouds covering the volcano's summit. People residing near the valleys and streams were advised to be “extra alert” against sediment-laden stream flows in the event of heavy rains. Bulusan Volcano is considered the 4th most active volcano in the country, after mounts Mayon, Taal, and Pinatubo. It has erupted 15 times since 1886.
TROPICAL STORMS -
No current tropical cyclones.
