New Orleans explosion: Unidentified blast heard as residents report shaking homes

‘Half of New Orleans, from Algiers, Bywater, Mid-City, just heard a big boom that shook houses including mine. And no one knows what it is’

Bourbon Street is empty as Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards orders bars, gyms and casinos to close until April 13th due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 16, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Getty Images)

An unidentified loud boom has been heard across New Orleans, Louisiana with some social media users reporting that the mysterious explosion shook their homes.

A noise was also reported in Algiers and Bywater. Others noted that similar loud noises have been heard in the area for about the last month.

“Just heard a loud, low bang and our house just shook. went outside and the neighbors two houses down were also investigating,” user @Du7ch49 tweeted at 12.35am on Wednesday. “Friends in Algiers and Treme *and* Gentilly heard it too. wtf is happening in New Orleans?”

“Half of New Orleans, from Algiers, Bywater, Mid-City, just heard a big boom that shook houses including mine. And no one knows what it is,” Matthew White wrote around the same time.

“Huge, distant but loud explosion just shook #NOLA West Bank, maybe 11:18 pm. Rattled my windows and echoed for a few seconds. What was it?” Tom Roche added.

“Did anyone else just hear a mysterious, really loud boom in the Holy Cross/Bywater/Algiers area? This has happened several times in the past month or so,” Peter Cook tweeted.

The New Orleans Police Department told Newsweek that it did receive a number of calls concerning the noise but that there’s no event under investigation at this time that appears to be related to the incident.

Dr Robert Collins, a professor of urban studies and public policy at Dillard University, tweeted at 1.41am on Wednesday that “we are now about two hours into the New Orleans explosion mystery, and still no official reports from first responders. The most popular Twitter theory so far seems to be a sonic boom from a meteorite buzzing across the city. But doesn’t NASA track those?”

California residents reported hearing an unknown boom in the middle of the night earlier this month.

San Geronimo Valley resident Christina Peralta told KGO that she had been hearing “really loud explosions,” including some that shook her house.

“I heard one and it rattled the walls of our house. I felt it in my body, my chest, it was so low it sounded like it was coming from underground,” Ms Peralta said.

“It’s a really disturbing sound and it’s scary to hear that when it’s like 8pm on any given night,” Ms Peralta added.

The Marin County Sheriff’s Office told KGO that they were aware of the loud sounds, adding that at least six have been heard over the past month. The most recent boom is reported to have been heard at around 10pm on 16 January.

Another valley resident told KGO that it didn’t “sound like fireworks, it’s not a similar sound as fireworks, it’s just a deep rumble boom”.