A mysterious boom that shook portions of Appling late Monday was confirmed Tuesday as a minor earthquake, according to Columbia County authorities.

The event, which registered a 2.1 magnitude on the Richter scale, occurred at 9:26 p.m. and was located near Columbia and Appling-Harlem roads, Emergency Services Director Pam Tucker said.

The temblor was not listed on national earthquake monitors, but was confirmed by a seismologist at Savannah River Site, she said.

"This would explain the loud boom and shaking that many residents felt," she said.

Earthquakes occur periodically in the area, which lies along the fall line, where the Coastal Plains and Piedmont regions meet.

Police have been inundated with calls about loud bang, believed to be a series of sonic booms.

Fire crews are also investigating the source of the noise and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue are liaising with neighbouring counties.

Thames Valley Police duty inspector Phil Rogers said people have reported the noise, from Chipping Norton, Burford, Banbury and North Newington, right out to Swindon and Warwick.

This is the 3rd morning in a row at roughly 3:00 am. The sound starts with a rumbling in the ground, and then the sound continues for roughly 30 minutes or so. Can not explain where it is coming from, it seems as if it is coming strait from the sky with not a single plane in sight.

If anyone has anymore info. on this sound we are hearing, I would very much appreciate any explanation to what we are experiencing here in Oregon.

Columbus, Ohio - A loud noise heard near Delaware and Marion counties concerned many residents Thursday evening.

10TV News received reports that residents in Hilliard, Galloway, Westerville and Canal Winchester also heard the sound.

According to the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, a low-flying jet broke the sound barrier and created a sonic boom.

A "thud" and even "three booms" were heard in the sky near Bigouden Wednesday night, March 23rd. The phenomenon remains unexplained and apparently was repeated on the night of the 24th from north to south of Finistere. There were reports also in Côtes d'Armor and Morbihan. But where do these sounds come from? "It sounded like a thud of a child stamping his feet on the wall of the neighbor," one witness said. Testimonials are legions Bigouden. But not only. Combrit Chateauneuf-du-Faou through Briec, Quimper, Plogastel-Saint-Germain, Pont l'Abbé, Tréméoc, Cockles, Plobannalec-Lesconil or Clohars-Fouesnant, many people on Wednesday to 21h, were intrigued by the phenomenon.

Michigan, US - Ferndale Police are investigating what might have caused three loud booms and light flashes that shook homes and concerned many local residents Saturday night.

The booms were heard around 9:30-10 p.m. and may have originated near the area of Hilton and Marshall. More than 40 people posted on Ferndale Patch's Facebook page about the incidents - describing flashes of light seen in the sky, their homes vibrating with the noise, and helicopters heard overheard following the sounds.

A Ferndale Police dispatcher said last night at 12:30 a.m. that they investigated the noise but could not find its cause. He said fireworks were a possibility.

Ferndale Police Lt. Casey O'Loughlin said Sunday morning that he was not aware of any reports made but said loud booms can be caused by fireworks.

"That's usually what loud booms turn out to be are fireworks," he said.

In Ferndale, any type of fireworks that explode or leave the ground are illegal, he said.

O'Loughlin said he was not aware of any helicopters being sent out.

US, Pennsylvania - Strong thunderstorms hit the Poconos Friday night, moving through shortly after 10 p.m. and continuing for at least a half hour, but the weather event that had folks talking was a loud sonic-like boom that shook houses at about 10:15 p.m.

Gilda Spiotta of Long Pond said, "The shaking last night lasted unusually long. Didn't sound like thunder, didn't feel like thunder, was wondering if something happened on 380/80; tanker accident."

Another Long Pond resident, Lorene R. Allman-Mars: "My son was at the back door letting the dogs out and he reported that he saw a large flash of light fill the sky toward/above the FedEx distribution site on 940, then he heard a loud boom. It didn't look like lightning, it looked like a bomb blew up in the air. I was on the second floor of the house; I didn't see anything but I heard the boom and felt it shake the house. I actually felt it under my feet. The floors shook; I have never felt lightning shake the house like that before and we've been up here 20 years!"

Some readers suggested an earthquake or an explosion, but said that definitely was no routine thunder.

Meteorologist and Pocono weather expert Ben Gelber offered this explanation: "One possibility is that thunderstorms in our chilly environment near the surface tonight, associated with an inversion of warm air aloft, sound much louder."

He added, "The sound waves are refracted back to the surface and reverberate in ways that we normally do not experience as they bounce between the surface and the inversion near the base of the clouds."

Other residents commented from across the Poconos:
"My kids and I heard the sound in Saw Creek," said Winnie Michaluk. "Our windows rattled and our dogs were barking like crazy."

Russo Albuja of Tobyhanna said, "I was driving along 196 on my way home from work when I felt the BOOM. It was so extreme, my car shook and on my left hand side on an empty field - all I saw was this HUGE flash of light coming from where the airport location would be at. Afterwards, I heard nothing. Kinda scared me that I rushed home and locked my doors."

Katee McCarthy said, "Felt it here in the Tannersville area. Quite scary." As of 11 p.m., she reported lightning and sleet in the area.

Tim Aziz said, "Just heard something at 10:35 in East Stroudsburg, the whole house vibrated!"

The USGS confirmed a small earthquake struck San Diego County Thursday night. The quake struck with a magnitude of 3.3 and at a depth of 7 miles at 11:09 p.m. The epicenter of the earthquake was four miles south-southeast of the Palomar Observatory, 17 miles northeast of Escondido and 39 miles north-northeast of San Diego, according to a computer-generated USGS report.

News stations in the area said they received over a dozen calls from concerned viewers who described the earthquake as very loud and said it was accompanied by three eerie booms. There were also reports of violent shaking. No injuries or damage was reported the tremor. No one in our generation remembers so many small tremors across the world triggering so many sonic booms. One has to wonder what is happening in the earth beneath our feet.

Clintonville, Wisconsin - Residents are shaken by booms once again in a small Wisconsin city where a small earthquake was recorded last week. Clintonville police say they received 65 calls Tuesday night between 10:35 and 11:40 from residents who experienced the booming. The city has been relatively quiet lately after the booms awakened residents for several days early last week.

The U.S. Geological Survey said a 1.5-magnitude earthquake struck March 20 in Clintonville, a town of about 4,600 people about 40 miles west of Green Bay.

City administrator Lisa Kuss says she has again contacted the Geological Survey about the latest booms.

In separate events, mysterious booms shook residents of Alabama, Georgia, and Wisconsin. So far, government activities, earthquakes, and sonic booms are ruled out.

It is a warm, breezy afternoon with plenty of sunshine. Outside, you can smell the flowers blooming. In the horizon, the sky appears slightly tinted with a green haze as the pollen swarms the air. Birds are chirping, and the bees are flying from flower to flower. Spring has finally arrived. Everything is perfect, and care free. All of a sudden, the serene and peaceful landscape screams....

BOOOOOOOM!

The ground slightly shakes, and it feels like a large tremor is occurring.

Immediately, you tune into your television, open up your facebook and twitter feeds to find out exactly what is going on. You realize you were not the only one who felt the Earth shake from under you. Others, just like yourself, heard a loud explosion, but had no idea where it came from. Was it an earthquake? No, there was no seismic activity in your area that would register high enough to feel the Earth shake from under you. Did a meteor hit the Earth? Did a house explode? Did a plane crash nearby? No signs of a fire or smoke outside your house.