Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 19, 2014 13:21:30 GMT 12
Is Defence behind Auckland's mystery bangs?
11:25 AM Thursday Jun 19, 2014
Rebecca Quilliam
The Defence Force could be behind a series of mystery booms that resounded over Auckland yesterday.
About 4pm residents from Piha in the west to Whangaparaoa in the north-east reported hearing and feeling large thumps, bangs or shocks.
But emergency services received no reports of damage.
Several residents have sent emails to APNZ saying four or five bangs, sounding like thunder or an earthquake, started about 4pm and continued every quarter of an hour until after 5pm yesterday.
One emailer said the airforce was carrying out bombing practice around the Kaipara harbour.
A Defence Force spokesman said the airforce base denied it had anything to do with the noise.
"But there is a Kaipara bomb range, so it is possible.
"There is also a navy explosive range up at Whangaparaoa, however it would be unusual for them to have an explosion that large."
More information about the Defence Force activity was expected later in the day.
MetService meteorologist John Law said it was very unlikely the mysterious booms were weather-related.
"There was a good southwesterly and showers moving across Auckland, which is not unusual for this time of year. Nice clear slots, but showers here and there."
Thunder and lightning can cause loud booms, but the only strikes we had were down off the Otago coast."
A Fire Service spokesman yesterday said there had been no reports of damage anywhere.
"There's just been mass confusion as to what it was."
GeoNet had also confirmed to the fire service there was no earthquake, he said.
A spokeswoman for the northern communications centre said it had received a handful of calls, "but nobody knows what it is", she said.
WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan was supporting the theory of a meteor strike, saying on Twitter the bang came from the sky.
"I felt/heard 2 of the explosions over Auckland earlier - I'm also going with a poss meteor coming in," he said.
Emails from readers today:
• "Heard and felt these in Torbay. Felt the vibration go through my body not just rattling through the house (I'm in an old timber villa nestled into a hill). To me they seemed almost like sonic booms. Something to do with air pressure, rather than something ground-based. Gave me a hell of a fright!" -- Marie Knowles.
• "I live ... on the ridgeline between Albany and Coatesville. I heard four or five bangs/thumps around 4pm yesterday. It felt like something had fallen against the house. As we have scaffolding up at the moment I had to check around the house each time. It sounded like a scaffold board had fallen over or a door had shut (but I was the only one home). The noises were about 15 minutes apart and curious enough to get me up from my computer to tour the property each time. It was very difficult to pinpoint if the noise was coming from inside the house or outside the house. I started to think I had a poltergeist!" -- Heather Carlson.
• "We live in Arkles Bay my House is on Poles, it felt like a Earth Quake as it was Thumping sound like a Sonic Boom it rattled my whole Home. I kept going outside as I thought someone had hit one of those Green Electrical Boxes. Fascinating that no one knows what it was and yet it was felt so widely around Auckland??? Mother Nature?"
• "My neighbour and I at Greenhithe presumed it was from Whenuapai. One of them was big enough to rattle the joinery in my house." -- Lou.
• "It's thunder. Caused by lightning above the clouds. Don't be afraid chicken littles. The sky is not going to fall on your heads ... Well not yesterday any way." -- Peter Griffin
• "I live in Ardmore and about 10 days ago I, my wife and neighbours heard an extremely large bang which set off our three dogs. The power didnt go out, I drove around the rural roads looking for an accident, but nothing. I like the meteor theory as the noise was quite obviously in the sky and echoed like thunder would. We are still mystified." -- Jeremy.
Next story: NZ quake warning - be ready for the big one
- APNZ
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11276806
11:25 AM Thursday Jun 19, 2014
Rebecca Quilliam
The Defence Force could be behind a series of mystery booms that resounded over Auckland yesterday.
About 4pm residents from Piha in the west to Whangaparaoa in the north-east reported hearing and feeling large thumps, bangs or shocks.
But emergency services received no reports of damage.
Several residents have sent emails to APNZ saying four or five bangs, sounding like thunder or an earthquake, started about 4pm and continued every quarter of an hour until after 5pm yesterday.
One emailer said the airforce was carrying out bombing practice around the Kaipara harbour.
A Defence Force spokesman said the airforce base denied it had anything to do with the noise.
"But there is a Kaipara bomb range, so it is possible.
"There is also a navy explosive range up at Whangaparaoa, however it would be unusual for them to have an explosion that large."
More information about the Defence Force activity was expected later in the day.
MetService meteorologist John Law said it was very unlikely the mysterious booms were weather-related.
"There was a good southwesterly and showers moving across Auckland, which is not unusual for this time of year. Nice clear slots, but showers here and there."
Thunder and lightning can cause loud booms, but the only strikes we had were down off the Otago coast."
A Fire Service spokesman yesterday said there had been no reports of damage anywhere.
"There's just been mass confusion as to what it was."
GeoNet had also confirmed to the fire service there was no earthquake, he said.
A spokeswoman for the northern communications centre said it had received a handful of calls, "but nobody knows what it is", she said.
WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan was supporting the theory of a meteor strike, saying on Twitter the bang came from the sky.
"I felt/heard 2 of the explosions over Auckland earlier - I'm also going with a poss meteor coming in," he said.
Emails from readers today:
• "Heard and felt these in Torbay. Felt the vibration go through my body not just rattling through the house (I'm in an old timber villa nestled into a hill). To me they seemed almost like sonic booms. Something to do with air pressure, rather than something ground-based. Gave me a hell of a fright!" -- Marie Knowles.
• "I live ... on the ridgeline between Albany and Coatesville. I heard four or five bangs/thumps around 4pm yesterday. It felt like something had fallen against the house. As we have scaffolding up at the moment I had to check around the house each time. It sounded like a scaffold board had fallen over or a door had shut (but I was the only one home). The noises were about 15 minutes apart and curious enough to get me up from my computer to tour the property each time. It was very difficult to pinpoint if the noise was coming from inside the house or outside the house. I started to think I had a poltergeist!" -- Heather Carlson.
• "We live in Arkles Bay my House is on Poles, it felt like a Earth Quake as it was Thumping sound like a Sonic Boom it rattled my whole Home. I kept going outside as I thought someone had hit one of those Green Electrical Boxes. Fascinating that no one knows what it was and yet it was felt so widely around Auckland??? Mother Nature?"
• "My neighbour and I at Greenhithe presumed it was from Whenuapai. One of them was big enough to rattle the joinery in my house." -- Lou.
• "It's thunder. Caused by lightning above the clouds. Don't be afraid chicken littles. The sky is not going to fall on your heads ... Well not yesterday any way." -- Peter Griffin
• "I live in Ardmore and about 10 days ago I, my wife and neighbours heard an extremely large bang which set off our three dogs. The power didnt go out, I drove around the rural roads looking for an accident, but nothing. I like the meteor theory as the noise was quite obviously in the sky and echoed like thunder would. We are still mystified." -- Jeremy.
Next story: NZ quake warning - be ready for the big one
- APNZ
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11276806