Early-morning earthquake is fourth to hit the Midlands in two months
An early-morning earthquake was reported by the U.S Geological Survey, making it the fourth quake recorded in the Midlands in the past two months.
A 2.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded near Kershaw Wednesday, according to the USGS.
The earthquake happened just before 5 a.m. and was recorded at a depth of 8 kilometers (about five miles), the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said on Twitter.
No damage or injuries have been reported.
This is the most recent of fourth earthquakes in the area, and the second in 2020. The other three occurred near Cayce, with some felt in Columbia.
On Jan. 3, a 1.8 magnitude earthquake happened in the morning hours and had a depth of 3.3 kilometers, according to the USGS.
A 2.5 magnitude earthquake occurred just after noon on Dec. 14 at a depth of 1.72 kilometers, the agency said.
A 2.0 magnitude earthquake was reported on Nov. 7 by the USGS. It occurred at 3:45 a.m. and had a depth of 0.8 kilometers.
Following the Jan. 3 earthquake, USGS geophysicist John Bellini told The State the Cayce area is not on any major fault line.
“South Carolina does have earthquakes from time to time. Although they are not common, it’s not surprising either,” Bellini said from the USGS offices in Golden, Colorado.
He added Cayce and Columbia are not located on any major fault line.
“All earthquakes occur on fault lines,” he said. “But most (fault lines) are tiny and not named, if they are known at all.”
Kershaw is about 60 miles north of Cayce.
Wednesday’s quake comes four days after an EF-2 tornado, with wind speeds of 130 mph, touched down in Kershaw County and damaged North Central High School.
Most people likely did not feel the earthquake, as the ones that register 2.5 magnitude or less often go unnoticed and are only recorded by a seismograph, according to Michigan Technological University. Any quake less than 5.5 magnitude is not likely to cause significant damage, the school said.
Anyone who did feel the quake can report it to the USGS.
Prior to the November quake, a 2.2 magnitude earthquake in Irmo on July 17 was the most recent earthquake recorded in the Midlands in 2019, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. That one occurred around 3 a.m.
Additional earthquakes in the Columbia area were reported in Winnsboro Mills on July 10 (1.4 magnitude), and Chapin on Jan. 24 (2.5 magnitude), per DNR.
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This story was originally published January 15, 2020 at 8:38 AM.
