Mystery hum leaves islanders 'hmmm'-ing

Saturday 13 November 2021

Islanders have been reporting a mysterious low humming noise around the island, with theories of its origins ranging from wailing whales to blaring boats.

The ‘hum’ has been reported on several times over the years in Jersey, with a Government page now even set up to try advise islanders on how to deal with it.

Speaking to Express, a St. Lawrence resident, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that she had been experiencing the hum for two years now.

Describing the noise, she said: "The explanation that I give that I find best works, is I think it's like very deep underground electrical current or electrical piece of machinery that's working, but really deep, it's such a low frequency, and it's very, very big."

"It feels like... a power station under Jersey," she added.

Pictured: Some islanders described how the sound was keeping them awake at night.

Contrary to suggestions she had received from others, she said it was "absolutely not boats," but rather a "deep, low frequency you can feel within your body."

Though her husband could not hear the noise, she said when she had flagged it up on social media a few months ago, a number of people in the same area also replied having experienced the same thing.

Now again, islanders on the Jersey Ask! Advise! Advertise! page have taken to express their frustration and intrigue around the noise, after a post from someone else on the topic racked up over 100 comments.

The post stated: "I've just woken up and can't get back to sleep due to what's seems to be a very low frequency drone / hum... very difficult to explain but you can almost feel it!"

In response, a great majority of commenters gave similar accounts from across the island, from St Ouen's Bay to Mont Millais.

Speculation ranged from boats, to La Collette, to passing whales, to tinnitus, to underground drilling.

This range of thought was also seen in how people reacted to the hum, with some expressing how it drove them "nuts" or kept them awake at night, whilst others took a different view, with one even going so far as to describe it as "therapeutic."

Indeed, there has been a history of complaints on the noise, with a Government page set up to try and advise islanders on how to deal with it, which at the time of its creation had seen complaints go up in the three year prior.

"These complaints are very difficult for Environmental Health to investigate as the levels of noise are often barely audible and the source direction is unclear. Our noise equipment has difficulty detecting such low frequencies," it reads.

When asked by Express about the latest queries from islanders, a Government spokesperson said: "The information on gov.je is not up to date and we are not currently aware of any significant increase in complaints.

"As we do not record low frequency noise complaints separately from other noise complaints, there is no easy way to get accurate data without checking every noise complaint separately, which would exceed the time allowed for an FOI request.

"Low frequency noise complaints can be extremely difficult to deal with, particularly as such sounds can come from a variety of sources and can travel long distances.

"Anyone who has a problem with noise should report their concerns to Environmental Health, who will deal with each individual case."