‘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 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.)

This spring’s first brood of cicadas, known as brood XIX, includes cicadas that emerge every 13 years. The brood is expected to emerge from late April until second week of May, according to the USDA, and is on track to impact Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The second wave, brood XIII, emerges every 17 years and is expected to ascend in mid-May through June in areas spanning Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. A map predicting the next cicada emergences and where they will take place can be found at this link.

Although cicadas pose no threat to humans, pets or crops, they have been known to cause damage to small or recently planted trees, where cicadas lay their eggs. The trees can be protected simply by using netting, according to the Purdue Extension.

While the loud sounds of the unusually expansive groups of cicadas appear to be just getting started this year, the next year a dual brood of cicadas is set to emerge together is 2245.

Additional cicada facts and images can be found at this link.