Two earthquakes in South Carolina on Thursday morning, officials confirm
Two early-morning earthquakes in South Carolina were confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey Thursday.
In less than 10 minutes, two low-magnitude earthquakes were reported in the same area of South Carolina’s Lowcountry, according to the state’s Emergency Management Division.
At 7:09 a.m., a 1.3-magnitude earthquake happened near Ladson, the USGS said. That’s on the Charleston County border with Berkeley and Dorchester counties.
Then at 7:18 a.m., a 1.09-magnitude earthquake occurred in the same area, according to the USGS.
The first earthquake was recorded at a depth of 3.5 kilometers (about 2 miles), while the second was 3.8 kilometers beneath the surface, according to the USGS.
Both occurred in the same location where a 2.0-magnitude earthquake was confirmed on Saturday.
No damage or injuries have been reported from any of the three quakes.
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.
This was the eighth earthquake in South Carolina in 2021 confirmed by the USGS. The first was a 2.1 magnitude quake reported near Dalzell on Jan. 18. It happened about 40 miles east of Columbia at about 6 a.m. and had a depth of 6.9 kilometers, according to the USGS.
There was another Lowcountry quake on Feb. 13, when a 2.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded near Summerville, according to the USGS.
On May 12, a 1.8 magnitude earthquake was confirmed near Heath Springs, the USGS said.
Two earthquakes were recorded near Lexington County on May 31, when a 2.0 magnitude earthquake followed one that registered at 2.6 magnitude, the USGS reported.
Dating back to July 2020, there have been at least 13 earthquakes in the Palmetto State, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
It is typical for South Carolina to have between six and 10 earthquakes a year, the S.C. Geological Survey reported. There were at least 11 earthquakes reported by the USGS in South Carolina in 2020.
One of the most powerful earthquakes recorded in South Carolina happened in Charleston on Aug. 31, 1886. The estimated 7.3 magnitude quake killed 60 people and was felt over 2.5 million square miles, from Cuba to New York, and Bermuda to the Mississippi River, according to the Emergency Management Division.
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This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 10:19 AM.
