PHOENIX — A strange shaking in a north Phoenix neighborhood has left residents worried.
“It’s just a rumbling noise,” said Kelly Jackson, who lives in the area. “It almost sounds like a jackhammer between the houses.”
The strange vibration affects the whole neighborhood and hits at random times, according to Jackson.
Most often, the shaking occurs in September, October, and April and when it does, neighbors said they can feel it in the air and through their bodies.
Something that, so far, no one has been able to figure out. Jackson said that after more than a decade of this strange occurrence, it’s taking its toll on her home.
“My house right here, this crack has come out since then, as you can see it’s going all the way down,” she said while pointing to a crack that runs vertically down the stucco of her home. “Oh, it’s doing damage inside and out.”
Neighbors are quick to point to a nearby landfill as the possible cause of the vibrations.
The Skunk Creek Landfill has been out of use since the mid-2000s. It is inspected regularly by the City of Phoenix Public Works Department, who said every test they run has shown that everything is working within normal operating limits.
“Our Public Works civil engineer and a contractor that monitors the landfill gas collection and control at Skunk Creek both report that no unusual activity has been recorded or observed,” said the Public Works Department in a statement. “However, for assurance, the Public Works landfill engineer and a consultant will conduct additional investigations of the Skunk Creek Landfill. Thus far, nothing unusual has been reported. However, additional research is being conducted to try and discover any nearby source of the vibrations.”
That gives little comfort to the people living in the shake zone but many wonder if methane gas is building under their neighborhood.
“I just want to make sure everybody is safe in the neighborhood," said Jackson.
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