South Carolina has seen several small earthquakes since February started, with the strongest being a magnitude 2.9 on Saturday.
According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), six earthquakes were reported between Feb. 3 and Feb. 12.
All the earthquakes occurred near each other in the southern part of the state, near Summerville, roughly 25 miles inland from Charleston.
Aerial view of historic Charleston, South Carolina.
(Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/UCG/Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
The strongest earthquake, a magnitude 2.9, was reported roughly 5 miles south of Summerville on Saturday, Feb. 7.
Four days before that, a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded roughly 3 miles south of Summerville.
A few days later on Wednesday, a magnitude 2.5 earthquake shook 4.3 miles south of Ladson, about 6 miles south of Summerville, South Carolina.
(FOX Weather)
Between the larger magnitude 2 earthquakes, some smaller magnitude 1’s were reported.
First, a magnitude 1.6 earthquake, 3.8 miles south of Ladson on Monday.
Another magnitude 1.6 occurred on Wednesday, south of Centerville, South Carolina.
Finally, a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was reported near Ladson and Summerville again on Thursday at about 4 a.m. ET.
Weak to light shaking was reported around the epicenter of all six earthquakes, according to USGS data.
Historic earthquake
The region isn’t a stranger to earthquakes. Back in 1886, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake was reported near Charleston, damaging or destroying many buildings and leading to 60 deaths, the USGS reported.
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Charleston, S.C., general view from St. Michael’s Church, circa 1900. Creator: Unknown.
(Heritage Art/Heritage Images / Getty Images)
To this day, the USGS said, the 1886 earthquake is the most damaging earthquake to occur in the Southeastern U.S.
Summerville at that time was a small town of roughly 2,000 people, the USGS said. There, many houses settled in an inclined position or were displaced by nearly two inches after the earthquake.
