Stupors and tremors this Wednesday. Around 10:20 p.m., a currently inexplicable phenomenon occurred. Did the earth shake? Could there have been an explosion? An experience difficult to describe precisely but which in any case caused a lot of concern among Caledonians.
“I was outside, I felt a sensation of lifting at the same time as the sound of an explosion.”
“My duplex vibrated so powerfully that it cracked the top of my living room.”
These are just two examples but there are hundreds more like these. Caledonians took to social networks this Wednesday evening to share their experiences and feelings. At 10:25 p.m. on November 13, a phenomenon occurred, it was felt in many neighborhoods of Nouméa, Dumbéa and Mont-Dore and as far as Koné. It only lasted a few seconds but was very intense.
See this video shared by an Internet user.
On the Web, some describe an explosion, others an earthquake, but for the moment no official site, such as the USGS, records seismic activity. Contacted this Thursday morning, civil security confirms that many Caledonians have felt the phenomenon but for the moment they do not yet have an exact explanation as to what may have happened. Captain Alexandre Rossignol raises the possibility of a “earthquake” which would explain why no device has any activity recorded.
More information to follow.
Another notable fact: the New Caledonia seismological network recorded an earthquake of magnitude 4.8 on the Richter scale, southeast of the Loyalty Islands, a few hours earlier, at 4:21 p.m. this Wednesday. The site talks about “Moderate shaking near the epicenter.”
The last strongly felt earthquake that marked the minds of Caledonians dates back to May 19 and 20, 2023. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred in the east of the territory.
