Naval base says flying jets likely cause of Cape Coral tremors

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A Naval Base in Key West is retracting statements made about the cause of buildings shaking in Cape Coral Thursday.

A Naval Base in Key West originally said jets were training in the area and that the small tremors were likely caused by jets flying faster than the speed of sound, a phenomenon that causes a sonic boom. Lee County and Emergency Services were also contacted and told that pilots were allegedly training for air-to-air combat.

But now, the Naval Base is stepping back on their earlier statements. Its jets were training, but not near Southwest Florida, officials said. Officials say the cause of the shaking was likely due to other military jets breaking the sound barrier, just not jets from the Key West base.

The scare comes only days after a Cape Coral neighborhood was ripped apart by an EF2 tornado. After feeling tremors, residents turned to social media for answers.

Many residents in the area became concerned and reported that their homes shook for almost 20 seconds Thursday morning around noon.

“We just had tornados come through. Now they’re talking about bad weather for the weekend. And now this?” said Rich Dyson in Cape Coral. “Everybody’s kind of on edge of what’s, you know, what’s happening.”

Reports of upcoming severe weather have since been downplayed. WINK News Chief Meteorologist Jim Farrell said he expects there to be a few strong rainstorms, but nothing to the extent of storms seen last weekend.