Bhubaneswar: The loud, mysterious sound, which had created panic in Jajpur, Bhadrak and parts of Keonjhar district of Odisha on Wednesday, was not an earthquake, the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has confirmed.
“There is no information regarding any earthquake in Odisha. According to the National Centre of Seismology, only one earthquake was reported early on Wednesday morning in Maharastra. Odisha was not on the list,” senior weather scientist at the Met centre here Uma Shankar Das told PTI.
According to sources, loud noises were heard between 10.55 am and 11 am, triggering speculation about a possible explosion or supersonic boom. It had flummoxed the people and they were seen running out fearing it to be an earthquake.
A senior official revenue and disaster management department official said some people suspect that the sound might have come from mine areas where heavy explosives are being used for blasts. The reason for the blast is yet to be ascertained, he added.
People in Jajpur district suspected that the loud sound might have occurred due to some missile test at APJ Abdul Kalam Island. Some college students said that they heard a loud explosion around 10.45 pm and felt a slight vibration following which they rushed to a nearby park.
A professor in Physics, Prashant Parida, told the media, “Usually such sounds are heard and the vibration is felt due to some crack or blast below the earth’s surface. However, if no vibration has not been felt by the people, the cause is likely to be something else.”
Notably, Bhadrak and Jajpur districts reported a similar occurrence in 2020.
