Another earthquake strikes tremor-prone area near South Carolina Army base

Ted Clifford
·1 min read
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A small earthquake was registered in an tremor-susceptible area of Kershaw County, South Carolina on Saturday morning.

The 2.14 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 5:27 a.m. Saturday and came at a depth of 2.4 kilometers, just under a mile and a half, according to the United States Geological Survey. The small quake struck 3.73 miles southeast of Elgin near Fort Jackson Road, according to a post on X from the South Carolina Emergency Management Division.

As of noon Saturday, the USGS said 57 people reported feeling the quake. Earthquakes under a magnitude of 2.5 are rarely felt or cause damage but can be recorded by seismographs.

It is the 29th earthquake confirmed this year in South Carolina, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The earthquake struck in a sparsely populated area of Kershaw County east of Interstate 20 and north of Fort Jackson that has been struck by eight small quakes this year. Most recently, on Dec. 22, a 2.19 magnitude earthquake was recorded roughly a mile away, on the other side of I-20.

Despite their frequency, the quakes in this area have been relatively small. The strongest earthquake to hit that area in the last year was a 2.54 magnitude quake that was recorded on Oct. 30, 2022, according to DNR.

Since 2022, seismic activity has been largely concentrated in the middle of the state. With more than 100 earthquakes recorded in South Carolina since the start of 2022, according to DNR, all but 10 have been in the Midlands.