An Earthquake? Really?

[Guardian]

Last night right after I went to bed, I heard what certainly sounded like an explosion way off in the distance. I thought they were blasting out a potential slide somewhere in the mountains, which is not that uncommon. They regularly blast "hanging" rocks to prevent slides along the highways, and they usually do it at night because there is less traffic to stop, and it's easier to see if they accidentally start a brush fire.

However, I just read a news report which states that it was a small earthquake that "sounded like a bomb"
_http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2012/oct/13/small-earthquake-northern-ga-ar-4746892/

Has anyone ever heard of something like this? Since when do small earthquakes sound like explosions? I did not feel the ground shake, not even a little tremor. It seems like if I could hear it, I should have been able to feel it too if it was an Earthquake?

 

[anart]

Last night right after I went to bed, I heard what certainly sounded like an explosion way off in the distance. I thought they were blasting out a potential slide somewhere in the mountains, which is not that uncommon. They regularly blast "hanging" rocks to prevent slides along the highways, and they usually do it at night because there is less traffic to stop, and it's easier to see if they accidentally start a brush fire.

However, I just read a news report which states that it was a small earthquake that "sounded like a bomb"
_http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2012/oct/13/small-earthquake-northern-ga-ar-4746892/

Has anyone ever heard of something like this? Since when to small earthquakes sound like explosions? I did not feel the ground shake, not even a little tremor. It seems like if I could hear it, I should have been able to feel it too if it was an Earthquake?

It might have been an overhead bolide explosion - those can make the ground tremble and sound like a bomb...

 

[Guardian]

It might have been an overhead bolide explosion - those can make the ground tremble and sound like a bomb...

Yeah, when I read it, I was thinking "meteor?"

What I don't get is why lie? Do they think people will be less frightened by explosive earthquakes than meteors?

 

[durabone]

It may not be a lie. Explosions of many sorts are detected by seismometers. And the mighty earthworm calculates epicenter and catalogs pretty quickly.

Your search parameters are:
catalog=ANSS
start_time=2012/10/08,00:00:00
end_time=2012/10/15,00:00:00
minimum_latitude=34
maximum_latitude=36
minimum_longitude=-86
maximum_longitude=-82
minimum_magnitude=1
maximum_magnitude=10
event_type=A
include events with no magnitude
Date Time Lat Lon Depth Mag Magt Nst Gap Clo RMS SRC Event ID
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/10/13 04:03:08.49 34.9690 -84.3473 8.62 2.50 Md 23 206 32 0.06 ET

Which places it near Martin Campbell, your time I think 11:03 PM. Does that sound right?

 

[Guardian]

Which places it near Martin Campbell, your time I think 11:03 PM. Does that sound right?

No, it was later than that, but the difference might be a time thing? We're on EST

 

[Guardian]

This is it:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/se101312b#summary
Preferred Location Parameters
Parameter Value Uncertainty
Magnitude 1.8 Md ± 0.20
Location 35.247°N, 84.240°W ± 1.0 km
Depth 6.8 km ± 7.1 km
Number of Stations Used 9
Number of Phases Used 15
Minimum Distance 21.0 km (0.19°)
Travel Time Residual 0.09 sec
Azimuthal Gap 101°
Review Status REVIEWED
Event ID se101312b

 

[durabone]

Not the same location at all. Interesting. I have spent a fair amount of perspiration (not near as much as you and your shovel ) trying to maintain a database of earthquakes, pulling from several sources. The thing that makes it so difficult is that the automatic answers generated quickly are revised substantially and there is no key in the catalog to connect the originals with the revisions.

 

[Guardian]

Not the same location at all. Interesting.

Yeah, they're saying the center was in Murphy, about 60-70 miles or so from me as the crow flies. Now sounds really do echo in the mountains, but 60 miles? It sounded a LOT closer than that.

 

[Risen]

Has anyone ever heard of something like this? Since when do small earthquakes sound like explosions? I did not feel the ground shake, not even a little tremor. It seems like if I could hear it, I should have been able to feel it too if it was an Earthquake?

In 2002 the same thing happened near Chattanooga. We heard an explosion and then felt a little tremor. Everyone was surprised when the officials said earthquake because we were thinking meteor or something like that.

 

[durabone]

ANSS now lists it, and declares two events.

Your search parameters are:
catalog=ANSS
start_time=2012/10/11,00:00:00
end_time=2012/10/15,00:00:00
minimum_latitude=34
maximum_latitude=36
minimum_longitude=-86
maximum_longitude=-82
minimum_magnitude=1.0
maximum_magnitude=10
event_type=A
Date Time Lat Lon Depth Mag Magt Nst Gap Clo RMS SRC Event ID
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2012/10/13 04:03:08.54 34.9705 -84.3530 7.94 2.50 Md 34 72 31 0.09 ET
2012/10/13 07:08:33.88 35.2473 -84.2395 6.75 1.80 Md 15 101 21 0.09 ET


Good luck trying to connect the dots and find the USGS page for the other event. Note that the top page for these quake reports is http://comcat.cr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ from which many links are broken.