Staff Reports
Residents in a county in South Carolina reached out to the sheriff’s office for help with the loud noise of cicadas on Tuesday. The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that it got multiple calls from residents about the sound of cicadas, which are appearing this month all across the United States.
The sheriff’s office explained that they received reports about a noise in the air that resembled a siren, whine, or roar, but it was actually the sound of cicadas. This year, two different broods of cicadas are emerging, which one scientist called “cicada-geddon.”
The sheriff’s office shared that cicadas are a type of insect that show up every spring. The nymphs of cicadas have been living underground for 13-17 years, and now they are hatching. While some people find the noise annoying, the sheriff’s office assured that cicadas are not harmful to humans or pets. They emphasized that the loud sounds are simply a natural part of nature.
According to reports, a group of cicadas can produce a noise as loud as a jet engine. Scientists who study cicadas even wear earmuffs to protect their ears from the sound.
