Earthquake in FL? Now the ground's shaking for no reason at all

Here is a short excerpt to a news story this afternoon out of north coastal Florida.

Geologist: Shaking Wasn't Florida Earthquake
"PALM COAST, Fla. -- Investigators are trying to solve a bizarre mystery in Flagler County. A wave of people called 911 around 9:30am Friday to report the ground shaking in Flagler County. The calls all came from the Hammock area of Palm Coast (see map). However, people in the north Daytona area, as well as in Deltona and as far north as St. Augustine, said they felt it as well. Many people were worried that the shaking was an earthquake."

A resident said that the building he was in rumbled and the ground definitely rumbled. This observation was similar to many others who frantically called 911. Even a county dispatcher felt it as it happened. The news journalist  found some people who have experienced sonic booms before as well as earthquakes and they confirmed that it felt like an earthquake. But the geologists say it wasn't. The USGS said nothing registered on their seismic scales.

Explanations for the rumbling range from sinkhole opening, aquifer collapse, fighter jet taking off, and supermoon.

With all the talk of the effect the Supermoon will have on the earth, this weird, abnormal, and unexplained Florida event will fuel their speculations. The Canadian Broadcast Company reported, "Earth's closest celestial neighbour will appear to loom larger and brighter than usual on Saturday night, as astronomers anticipate a cosmic event called an "extreme supermoon". One effect that a moon approaching its closest position to earth has always been abnormally high and low tides. The last time a lunar perigee occurred was 1955, 1974, 1992, 1993 and 2005 but it was only 1993 that the moon was full. I remember that one.

I was living aboard a sailing yacht in the Bahamas at the time with my then-husband. I wasn't saved then. I remember the talk about the really large moon and the effect on the tides was something us seagoing cruisers had to pay attention to. I didn't own a bible then but we did have several dog-eared copies of the tidal almanacs.

The tide did go out really low, exposing marine life and formations we did not usually have the advantage of seeing without benefit of a snorkel mask. As for other effects a supermoon would have on the earth besides tides, I am not aware. But plenty of people are wondering. Some say that there is increased risk of tsunamis, extreme seismic activity and volcanic eruptions. Others say such effects from a supermoon are rubbish. Pooh-poohing the supermoon effects  isn't stopping Californians, though, as this article from LA Times states: "Worries about a big earthquake jolting California have shoppers stocking up on survival supplies."  The fact is, people are spooked. "[T]he combination of quakes, a freaky big moon and the recent massive fish die-off in Redondo Beach has people such as Michael Jaworski stocking up on freeze-dried food and first-aid kits, just in case." Add to that radiation plumes, and you pretty well have an uneasy west coast population, and former USGS geologist Jim Berkland didn't help matters by predicting a huge quake for this weekend. It didn't help because Berkland has a good record of quake prediction. He isn't a fringe guy spouting off, but spent a career in the mainstream and he has the science. He believes the supermoon will have an effect on earth.

As for volcanoes, Indonesia issued a red alert Friday after Mount Karangetang on the island of Sulawesi erupted, sending lava and searing gas clouds down its slopes. Officials are evacuating villages now.

Back to  the Florida pseudo-quake. I don't know what it was, but so many strange events are occurring in the world that defy explanation is unsettling, to say the least. And the events that man does explain, like huge earthquakes or nuclear radiation, are so outsized that they induce fear, anyway. All I can say is, it's the end time.

If you want to view the supermoon, it will be about 15 per cent larger and up to 30 per cent brighter than usual on Saturday night. Check it out around sunset, when it's low in the sky.

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