Something lurks beneath the villages of Siirt, a province in eastern Türkiye. Is it a monster? A harbinger of an earthquake? Or is it a totally mundane occurrence stemming from the movement of underground water? Residents of Akyayla are curious. The village is the second in Siirt in less than one month to report a mysterious sound emanating from below.

Last month, residents of Meydandere sought help from authorities to determine the source of a strange noise waking them up at night and shaking their homes. Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) crews launched an investigation into the claim and the source of the sound has yet to be determined. AFAD will now head to the Tillo district in Akyayla to investigate the new claim.

Akyayla is located just about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) from Meydandere and it first reported the mysterious sound on Aug. 9 and just like in Meydandere, it started at night. Villagers say they felt a tremor that lasted for a few seconds. The village mukhtar Halit Aygün told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday that they felt like their houses were going to collapse. He says they heard about Meydandere and were concerned. Umayittin Aygün, another villager, said he felt the tremor and accompanying sound "similar to an explosion" twice before. "I thought it was an earthquake but there is not the slightest crack on the walls or elsewhere," he said.

"It was frightening. I have experienced an earthquake in the past and I know how it is. This was not an earthquake," Sadık Aktı, another villager, said.

Cahit Akkoyun, head of AFAD’s Siirt branch, said that geology engineers were investigating the case and working on a comprehensive report about the source of the sound. He noted that both villages were located in an area exposed to potential natural disasters. "Meydandere is a village built on land left over from a landslide and Akyayla is in an area with a high risk of rock falls," he noted.