On Friday, residents in Piedmont, South Carolina, felt a series of tremors that continued into the overnight hours, as reported by the US Geological Survey.
The most intense shaking was centered around Greenwood County, situated between Columbia and Greenville, just to the east of the Savannah River.
Since midnight Saturday, the USGS has noted at least seven measurable earthquakes, with magnitudes between 1.8 and 3.0.
The National Weather Service office in the Greenville-Spartanburg area reached out on social media, asking locals if they had experienced the tremors.
Many people in Greenwood County replied that the shaking was strong enough to wake them and even dislodge small objects like photographs.
The shallow nature of these quakes resulted in a noticeable boom, which experts suggest is a typical effect of earthquake vibrations reaching the surface.
No local governments reported damages linked to the shaking, which is often the case with minor seismic events.
The region, known as the Palmetto Province, is recognized as one of the more seismically active areas along the East Coast.
According to South Carolina’s Emergency Management Department, the state usually has about 10 to 15 earthquakes annually, but only a few are significant enough for residents to notice or feel.
A lot of seismic activity in South Carolina is attributed to the Middleton Place-Smurfville seismic zone, where many fault lines are located.
Experts explain that while most tremors are minor, the risk for larger earthquakes exists, particularly since certain faults lie within North American tectonic plates rather than at their boundaries.
A historically significant earthquake occurred in 1886, registering around 7.3 in magnitude, affecting Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry.
This event led to significant destruction, damaging over 2,000 buildings, toppling church spires, cracking foundations, and resulting in numerous fatalities.
Emergency management officials caution that if a similar major quake were to hit modern South Carolina, it could have serious consequences, especially considering the state’s aging infrastructure and growing population.
