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Emerging cicadas are so loud in one South Carolina county that residents are calling the sheriff’s office asking why they can hear sirens or a loud roar.In South Carolina, the loud chorus of cicadas has led to a surge in calls to the police from concerned citizens. Law enforcement has been fielding these calls, raising awareness about the unique phenomenon of cicada emergence.
The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office sent out a message on Facebook on Tuesday letting people know that the whining sound is just the male cicadas singing to attract mates after more than a decade of being dormant.
Trillions of red-eyed periodical cicadas are emerging from underground in the eastern U.S. this month. The broods emerging are on 13 or 17 year cycles.Their collective songs can be as loud as jet engines and scientists who study them often wear earmuffs to protect their hearing.