Historical Earthquakes around South Carolina

The 1886 Charleston earthquake and Summerville

The August 31, 1886 earthquake near Charleston is the most damaging event in the Southeastern US in recorded history, with an estimated magnitude above 7 and the epicenter was likely near Middleton Place. Small earthquakes in this area near Summerville, SC are routinely detected and are likely related to the same fault system as the 1886 earthquake. These include the 1912 magnitude 4.8, the 1959 mannitude 4.4, the 1974 magnitude 4.7 and the 1992 magnitude 4.1 all located near Summerville

The Eastern Piedmont Fault System

The Eastern Piedmont Fault System runs from Alabama to Virginia and crosses the midlands of South Carolina, roughly from Augusta GA to Columbia and into the PeeDee region. There is speculation that some earthquakes in South Carolina may be related to this structure, including the 2021-2026 swarm near Lugoff and Elgin. But because the patterns of seismicity in South Carolina are diffuse, a definitive connection is uncertain.

2021-2026 Swarm near Lugoff and Elgin

On Dec 27, 2021, the first of over a hundred earthquakes in an area near Lugoff and Elgin occurred. Within this swarm there have been 5 earthquakes with magnitude greater than 3 and many of the smaller ones have been felt by residents of the area. This swarm appears associated with the Eastern Piedmont Fault System and as of January 2026 the earthquakes are continuing, although at a reduced rate and size.

Reservoir Induced Seismicity

The impounding of artificial lakes and reservoirs is known to cause small earthquakes in the vicinity. These tend to be small and close to the reservoir. The activity is most intense in the months following the filling of the reservoir, but may continue sporadically for years. Notable examples include around Lake Strom Thurmond (Clarks Hill Lake) on the Georgia border, lakes Jocassee and Keowee in the northwest corner, and the Monticello reservoir in the center of the state.

General Seismicity

All areas of South Carolina have seen earthquakes at one time or another, although generally fewer in the coastal plain, with Charleston being the exception. These include earthquakes in 1913 in Union County, 1924 in Pickens County and 1972 near Orangeburg as well as the 2014 magnitude 4.1 Edgefield County earthquake. The map below shows earthquakes from the last month in red and earthquakes since June 2009 in black.

Monitoring Seismicity in South Carolina

The monitoring of earthquakes in South Carolina can be divided broadly into 4 time periods. The first would be prehistoric, where there are no written records. However, some evidence of ancient earthquakes does exist due to liquefaction and resulting sand blows that can be dated with radiocarbon techniques, providing evidence that earthquakes like the 1886 Charleston event have occurred in the past, with stronger evidence for earthquakes approximately 500, 1000, and 1600 years ago and some evidence for even older events. The study of these is called paleoseismology.

The second period is the age of written records in South Carolina, from about 1698 until the installation of the first seismic network in 1974. Earthquakes in this time frame are identified from newspaper accounts, journals and other sources. While we cannot know the exact magnitude of these earthquakes, it can be estimated by mapping geographical patterns of the severity of shaking and the resulting damage contained in these records.

The third era is the time of observation from seismic instrumentation. This began in 1974 with the installation of a 10 station South Carolina Seismic Network, primarily in the low country of the state, that was able to detect and locate earthquakes. The recording of earthquakes directly via seismometers greatly increased the accuracy of their location and size.

The fourth era was the upgrading of the existing network from analog telemetry of short period single component seismometers to more modern digital recording of three component broadband seismometers, greatly increasing the sensitivity and quality of the data recovered. This is also the first era where the raw data recordings could be shared with global researchers, within seconds of it being recorded. This was done via telemetry of all data to both the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis and the IRIS Data Management Center (now EarthScope) in Seattle. Currently anyone that would like to have access to the recorded seismic data can do so via EarthScope services.