Strange rumbling sound heard by some in northern Leeward Islands

There are reports that persons in Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands reportedly heard a sound like an explosion and even felt a rumble in their territories this morning. While there were no reports of an earthquake in the region many believe the boom-like sound may have been linked to SpaceX and a space launch off the Texas Coast (Gulf of Mexico) however, it has not been officially confirmed what was responsible for the sound. 

The Department of Disaster Management in Anguilla put out a post on social media asking: “Did you hear or feel a rumbling just now? Let us know in the comments if you did, where you were and what you felt.”  

Many people responded in the affirmative about hearing a long rumbling like a loud long thunder with some persons even reporting their doors rattling.  

Someone even responded in the comments that loud booms were heard in St Maarten. 

The Department of Disaster Management in Anguilla in a subsequent update posted: “Information continues to come in and it appears there may have been two separate events close together. The USGS reports a 3.6 Earthquake 94km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico and the SpaceX explosion. 

As information comes in we will continue to update you.” 

Over in the British Virgin Islands, the Department of Disaster Management also responded to concerns on social media.  

It stated: “The Puerto Rico Seismic Network after their investigation of sensors and other means that monitor the trenches, have indicated that no earthquake occurred that was associated with the explosion heard in the territory. The quake detected around that time was North of the Dominican Republic at a magnitude around 2.8 which is very small and would not have been felt or heard in our area.” 

According to an AP news report, SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship but lost both the booster and the spacecraft in a pair of explosions minutes into Saturday's test flight.  

The rocketship reached space following liftoff from South Texas, but communication suddenly was lost.  

SpaceX officials said it appears the ship's self-destruct system blew it up over the Gulf of Mexico.