Some Boston residents heard a loud explosion on Saturday. Residents said they felt shaking and heard powerful explosions in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The USGS has not reported an earthquake, but buildings are believed to be shaking. One local on X wrote: “Police are not sure what just happened. No visible fire or smoke confirmed yet.”
According to posts shared online, people in areas such as Brighton, Somerville, Medford, Melrose, Southborough and other nearby communities heard the noise around the same time. Some residents also claimed they felt shaking in their homes.
One Reddit user wrote that they heard a loud bang that “shaked everything in my room.” The user wrote: “I was near Brighton and I just felt a rumble and heard a loud bang that shook everything in my room. It didn’t sound like thunder and was too far away and dull to shake my room. Does anyone know what happened?”
Booms are also being heard in South Carolina and Rhode Island
Rhode Island also reported hearing explosions and possibly a sonic boom. Many locals took note of the noise on social media. However, as with Boston, there hasn’t been any clear action.
A powerful boom rocked homes and buildings across the Midland region on Thursday, shocking people in central South Carolina.
Witnesses claimed they heard and felt the effects coming from multiple locations across the state when the unexplained noises began at 5:30 p.m. Reports were received in Columbia, Lexington, Sumter, Camden, Blythewood, North Augusta and Darlington counties, indicating a widespread incident.
The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that a rattling sound that began in St. Andrews at 5:24 p.m. was consistent with a sonic boom and not an earthquake, ABC News reported.
What could be the reason behind the explosion?
The GOES-19 satellite detected a large flash that did not appear to be related to thunderstorm activity. Nick Stewart, a meteorologist and wind analyst at X, said the explosions and roars residents heard could be the result of “a fairly large bolide/meteor entering the atmosphere.”
“The flash density product does show this unusual ‘flash’ that is very unique to bolide/meteor re-entries east of Boston. This may be the source of the loud noise/explosion,” Stewart wrote.
However, as of press time, authorities have not confirmed the specific cause of the explosion.
