An earthquake was recorded early Sunday morning in a part of South Carolina where no tremors had been previously recorded this year.
A 1.6 magnitude earthquake rumbled in the Upstate area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey .
Sunday’s earthquake was recorded at 1:36 a.m. in the area near Salem in Oconee County , the South Carolina Emergency Management Division said. It happened about 1 mile below the surface of the ground, the USGS said.
This was the first confirmed earthquake of 2025 recorded in South Carolina’s Upstate. The last earthquake to hit the Palmetto State was a 2.0 quake that was reported near Elgin in the Midlands on Jan. 31 , according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey .
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 65 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 Sunday morning’s earthquake can report it to the USGS .
FWhZm6UXEAELE85.jpgThe South Carolina Emergency Management Division map of fault lines in the Palmetto State where there has been a swarm of earthquakes.
The most recent earthquake means at least 137 have been detected in the Palmetto State since the start of 2022, according to South Carolina DNR. All but 30 of the quakes have been in the Midlands .
In all, 113 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 Wednesday 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 any of the 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 151 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
Date/LocationMagnitudeDepth (km)2021Jan. 18/Dalzell2.16.9Feb. 13/Summerville2.15.1May 12/Heath Springs1.89.99May 31/Summit2.61.7May 31/Summit2.05.1July 16/Ladson2.04.0July 22/Ladson1.33.5July 22/Ladson1.953.97Aug. 21/Centerville1.751.97Aug. 21/Centerville1.713.37Sept. 27/Summerville2.86.0Sept. 27/Summerville2.05.8Sept. 27/Centerville3.36.8Oct. 25/Jenkinsville2.23.8Oct. 26/Jenkinsville1.80.0Oct. 28/Jenkinsville1.81.8Oct. 28/Jenkinsville1.70.0Oct. 28/Jenkinsville2.14.2Oct. 31/Jenkinsville2.30.1Nov. 1/Jenkinsville2.05.1Nov. 9/Centerville1.53.8Nov. 16/Arial2.25.4Dec. 20/Ladson1.12.8Dec. 27/Lugoff3.33.2Dec. 27/Lugoff2.52.4Dec. 27/Elgin2.10.7Dec. 27/Lugoff1.74.9Dec. 29/Elgin2.31.6Dec. 30/Elgin2.52.5Dec. 30/Elgin2.43.82022Jan. 3/Lugoff2.52.7Jan. 5/Lugoff2.60.5Jan. 5/Lugoff1.57.0Jan. 9/Ladson1.42.9Jan. 11/Elgin1.75.4Jan. 11/Lugoff2.03.2Jan. 11/Elgin1.35.0Jan. 15/Elgin1.83.5Jan. 19/Elgin1.95.0Jan. 21/Elgin1.94.8Jan. 27/Lugoff2.11.0Feb. 2/Elgin1.53.9March 4/Elgin1.82.8March 9/Elgin2.23.6March 11/Camden2.11.2March 27/Lugoff2.11.9March 28/Centerville0.92.9April 7/Elgin2.02.9April 8/Centerville1.63.6April 22/Ladson1.13.5April 22/Taylors2.22.3May 9/Elgin3.33.1May 9/Elgin1.62.9May 9/Elgin1.784.1May 9/Elgin2.13.7May 9/Elgin2.95.6May 10/Elgin2.33.9May 10/Elgin2.86.2May 19/Elgin1.82.5May 21/Elgin1.95.6June 26/Elgin1.884.09June 29/Elgin3.52.64June 29/Elgin1.882.92June 29/Elgin3.62.95June 29/Elgin1.792.07June 29/Elgin1.513.72June 29/Elgin1.461.93June 29/Elgin2.062.22June 30/Elgin2.323.09June 30/Elgin1.442.8June 30/Elgin2.033.11June 30/Elgin2.152.56June 30/Elgin2.061.92June 30/Elgin1.492.46July 1/Elgin1.553.37July 1/Elgin2.113.83July 1/Elgin1.263.3July 1/Elgin1.684.02July 2/Elgin2.091.65July 3/Elgin1.92.1July 3/Lugoff1.63.2July 3/Elgin1.41.96July 3/Elgin1.15.0July 7/Elgin2.14.0July 8/Elgin1.62.5July 8/Elgin1.43.8July 14/Elgin1.32.5July 15/Elgin1.63.3July 18/Elgin1.23.2July 19/Elgin2.21.8July 19/Elgin2.13.2July 24/Lugoff2.32.4July 25/Lugoff2.12.2July 30/Elgin1.83.6July 31/Elgin1.71.6Aug. 3/Elgin1.83.0Aug. 9/Boykin1.66.9Aug. 15/Elgin1.53.6Aug. 18/Homeland Park2.10.03Aug. 27/Elgin1.32.4Sept. 1/Centerville1.50.7Sept. 21/Elgin1.93.2Sept. 22/Lugoff1.41.5Oct. 14/Elgin1.34.2Oct. 30/Elgin2.50.02Nov. 24/Elgin2.03.5Dec. 9/Elgin1.72.42023Jan. 10/Hopkins1.96.0Jan. 18/Centerville1.48.8Jan. 20/Lugoff1.84.5Feb. 17/Cayce1.95.0Feb. 17/Elgin2.42.4Feb. 28/Elgin1.32.5March 27/Winnsboro1.44.5April 4/Cross Anchor1.611.5June 5/Elgin1.723.6June 20/Elgin2.03.4July 24/Ladson2.56.4Aug. 3/Six Mile1.95.6Aug. 5/Summerville1.724.83Oct. 6/ Kershaw County2.22.9Oct. 9/Elgin1.684.67Nov. 17/Jenkinsville1.83.4Nov. 19/Jenkinsville1.711.6Nov. 21/Jenkinsville1.65.4Nov. 26/Jenkinsville2.24.0Nov. 26/Jenkinsville2.096.34Nov. 27/Jenkinsville1.865.67Nov. 29/Jenkinsville2.04.6Nov. 29/Jenkinsville2.011.8Nov. 30/Jenkinsville2.412.87Dec. 13/Jenkinsville1.66.41Dec. 22/Lugoff2.22.4Dec. 28/Jenkinsville1.81.6Dec. 30/Elgin2.14.42024Jan. 8/Elgin2.13.2Feb. 6/Lugoff1.71.7March 9/Elgin2.832.86March 9/Elgin1.31.5March 17/Elgin1.92.9March 24/Elgin2.14.9March 27/Elgin2.26April 6/Jenkinsville1.25.1June 11/Lesslie2.22.8Aug. 9/Elgin2.33.9Aug. 26/Jackson1.90.7Sept. 1/Parksville2.15.6Sept. 14/Elgin2.13.2Sept. 15/Elgin2.52.3Sept. 16/Pageland2.21.9Sept. 24/Catawba1.77.4Oct. 10/Coronaca2.23.0Oct. 13/Coronaca2.43.9Oct. 13/Cokesbury1.815.6Oct. 13/Coronaca1.80.04Oct. 13/Coronaca2.17.2Oct. 13/Coronaca2.54.6Oct. 13/Coronaca2.20.04Oct. 13/Coronaca2.111.5Oct. 13/Coronaca1.55.0Oct. 15/Coronaca1.50.04Nov. 20/Centerville1.06.4Dec. 3/Summerville1.66.0Dec. 7/Centerville2.16.2Dec. 10/Centerville0.85.42025Jan. 8/Jenkinsville1.93.0Jan. 31/Elgin2.03.1Feb. 9/Salem1.61.9
February 9, 2025 | State, The: Web Edition Articles (Columbia, SC)
Author/Byline: Noah Feit, The State | Section: environment