Rumbling returns to SC Midlands as earthquake recorded near tremor-prone area
An earthquake has hit a tremor-prone area of South Carolina once again.
A 2.29 magnitude earthquake was recorded Friday morning in Kershaw County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. it happened just before 11:30 a.m., about five kilometers from the town of Elgin, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said. It was felt as far away as Irmo in Lexington County and Columbia in Richland County.
No injuries or damage have been reported.
The tremors marked the tenth confirmed earthquake in South Carolina so far this year. In March, there was a flurry of seismic action near the very same area in Kershaw County, with five quakes hitting the area.
About 28 quakes were recorded in South Carolina in 2023, according to the state Department of Natural Resources, and 125 earthquakes in South Carolina since Jan. 18, 2021. The state previously averaged about six to 10 annually, according to the S.C. Geological Survey.
Earthquakes under a 2.5 magnitude often go unnoticed. But anyone who felt shaking or heard rumbling can report it to the USGS.
Some experts have theorized there’s a link between the Wateree River and the increase of earthquakes northeast of Columbia. But no one has settled on the single cause for the Midlands’ shaking.
“Though the frequency of these minor earthquakes may alarm some, we do not expect a significantly damaging earthquake in South Carolina at this time, even though we know our state had them decades ago,” South Carolina EMD Director Kim Stenson previously said in a news release.
