For people outside the area of Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, this problem isn't making big headlines. At least not yet. But for those of us who like a mystery, it's a story we've been following for a while.
It all started about a year ago when people in one neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario started to hear a low humming sound. Some claimed they could feel it vibrating through their house. But it seemed that only certain people felt it. Some were too scared to even say they did. I remember one resident inviting a TV reporter into his home and placing a glass of water on the floor of his living room. He turned everything off, furnace, etc. that would cause noise. The water in the glass started to shake a bit.
But then it started to get louder and the area hearing/feeling the hum/vibration started to get bigger. The Ministry of the Environment up here started getting hundreds of complaints. Something was going on! Here's a bit done by the local Windsor newspaper.
If I remember correctly they said it could be an underground river or perhaps some earthquake fault line but nothing made sense. How could something like this just start up out of the blue?
The media didn't know what to make of it either.
They say it comes most often in the dead of night: a deep, relentless rumble that rolls in from the west. At the best of times, it’s a low frequency drone—not unlike the sound of idling truck engines, says one resident. At its worst, the mysterious force known as the Windsor Hum is described as an incessant roar. It rattles windows, frightens dogs, wakes up babies, doles out headaches and deprives people of sleep.
”
It's starting to sound like the boogeyman.
But thanks to a city council that won't let it drop, the Federal Department of Natural Resources went to work and found the source of the hum. Or rather, they found where it's coming from.
According to data amassed this summer by seismic monitors placed by Natural Resources Canada, the Windsor Hum is coming from a one-square-kilometre area “in the general vicinity” of Zug Island, Mich., a fenced-in, heavy industrial zone dominated by steelmaking operations and patrolled by armed guards.
If you want to hear what people are talking about, this is the best recording I've heard yet. It's made by a Windsor City councilor near Zug Island. Go to the 1 minute mark and, if you can, listen with your headphones.
So what is happening at Zug Island? Or rather, what started happening at Zug Island over a year ago? They now believe it's sound waves.
Despite all that is happening on our side of the border, Canada can't do anything about what is going on THAT side of the border.
Then things began to settle down. The hum went away. But it's back!
Last week was the harshest and most annoying to date, with people logging the low bass noises and vibrations at all hours of the day and night. One resident who lives on Northway Ave. told me Sunday morning he could hear it and feel it in his chest. Another resident claims she could see, hear and feel the window frames buzz with higher intensity then every before.
There are more community meetings planned in the future and residents are pleading for the Federal Government to push it further. Lord knows they aren't getting any help from the US side. The City of River Rouge, where Zug Island is located, said it doesn't have the money to investigate it any further.
So....anyone like a mystery? Any suggestions?