Earthquake rumbles under this part of South Carolina for first time this year

For the first time in 2025 an earthquake was recorded in a part of South Carolina that borders on the Charlotte, North Carolina area, as seismic activity was recorded early Thursday morning.

A 2.2 magnitude earthquake rumbled near the state line while most people were asleep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Thursday’s earthquake was recorded at 3:34 a.m. in the Lancaster County area, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said. It happened nearly 3 miles below the surface of the ground, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

This was the eighth confirmed earthquake of 2025 in South Carolina. The last earthquake in the Palmetto State was only days ago, when a 2.6 magnitude quake April 26, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey.

The previous quake was the fifth earthquake of the year in South Carolina to be recorded near Elgin, in the Midlands region. While Thursday’s earthquake was the first of 2025 near Rock Hill, there were three quakes confirmed in that area last year, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources records show.

There were 30 confirmed earthquakes last year in South Carolina, after 28 quakes were recorded in 2023, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

History of earthquakes in SC

It has been uncommon for earthquakes to hit outside of the Midlands area of the Palmetto State, specifically beyond Kershaw County, where 69 earthquakes have been confirmed since the end of June 2022, according to the South Carolina DNR.

That’s also where South Carolina’s most powerful recent earthquakes were recorded on June 29, 2022.

On that day, two earthquakes — one a 3.5 magnitude and the other 3.6 — were included in a flurry of tremors and aftershocks. Those were the two largest quakes to hit South Carolina in nearly a decade. A 4.1-magnitude quake struck McCormick County in 2014.

Anyone who felt tremors and shaking or heard rumbling from Thursday morning’s earthquake can report it to the USGS.

The most recent earthquake means at least 142 have been detected in the Palmetto State since the start of 2022, according to South Carolina DNR. All but 31 of the quakes have been in the Midlands.

In all, 117 earthquakes have hit the Columbia area since a 3.3-magnitude quake was recorded Dec. 27, 2021, according to the DNR.

The S.C. Emergency Management Division said Thursday morning’s earthquake was classified as a micro quake, according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.

No major damage or injuries have been reported from Thursday’s seismic activity or any of the other recent quakes.

Earthquakes that register 2.5 magnitude or less often go unnoticed and are usually recorded only 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.

It had been typical for South Carolina to have between six and 10 earthquakes a year, the S.C. Geological Survey previously reported. There have been 156 earthquakes in South Carolina since Jan. 18, 2021, according to DNR.

During a 2022 town hall to address the earthquakes, state geologist Scott Howard said as many as 200 smaller tremors might have gone unnoticed and unrecorded.

Why the increase in earthquakes?

An explanation for the outburst has eluded scientists.

Some experts have theorized there’s a link between the Wateree River and the earthquakes northeast of Columbia. They said the combination of a single moderate earthquake in December 2022 and high water levels in the Wateree River during parts of 2022 and 2023 have contributed to the earthquakes.

But no one has settled on the single cause for the Midlands’ shaking.

Elgin, about 20 miles northeast of Columbia and situated on a fault line, experienced an unusual earthquake “swarm,” leaving some residents feeling uneasy.

The series of quakes might be the longest period of earthquake activity in the state’s history, officials said. But they don’t believe the spate of minor earthquakes is an indicator that a bigger quake could be on the way.

“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.

“Now is the time to review your insurance policies for earthquake coverage, secure any items in your home that may become hazards during a tremor and remember to drop, cover and hold on until the shaking passes. These are the precautions South Carolinians can take to properly prepare for earthquakes.”

The strongest earthquake ever recorded in South Carolina — and on the East Coast of the United States — was a devastating 7.3 in Charleston in 1886.

That 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 state EMD.

Reported earthquakes in SC in 2021-25

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription