Earthquake shook parts of South Carolina Saturday night
A Saturday night earthquake in South Carolina was confirmed by the U.S. Geological Survey on Sunday morning.
A 2.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded near Summerville in the state’s Lowcountry at about 8 p.m., the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said on Twitter
The Charleston-area earthquake was recorded at a depth of 5.1 kilometers (about 3 miles), according to the USGS.
No damage or injuries have been reported.
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 second 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.
In August 2020, people across South Carolina reported feeling the effects of a 5.1 magnitude earthquake that happened in the area of Sparta, North Carolina.
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.
“The Palmetto State has a seismic past and will, no doubt, tremble again as quakes shake the ground beneath our feet,” the S.C. Department of Natural Resources previously said.
