‘The sounds of nature’: Cicada noise causes influx of 911 calls in South Carolina town

For the first time in 221 years, two separate broods of cicadas are emerging in the U.S. this spring, and the first wave is already causing confusion and concern in some impacted towns.

Newberry, S.C., made national headlines this week after the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement on Facebook that it had received a number of 911 calls “about a noise in the air that sounds like a siren, or a whine, or a roar.” The sheriff’s office then clarified that the culprits responsible for the piercing noise were the cicadas, a family of insects that live underground for 13–17 years before ascending.

“Although to some, the noise is annoying, they pose no danger to humans or pets,” the sheriff’s office added. “Unfortunately, it is the sounds of nature.”

The noise cicadas produce can reach up to 90–100 decibels, louder than a hairdryer, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (A sample of the cicadas’ whir can be heard at this link.)

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