QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Summerville, SC

USGS: 1 km ENE of Summerville, South Carolina

15 km (9 mi) NW of North Charleston, SC · in Summerville, SC

11:42 am EDT, Nov 2, 2018 · · 4.4 km deep · released about 52 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorchester County 23 kmBerkeley County 28 kmCharleston County 32 kmColleton County 50 kmClarendon County 71 kmOrangeburg County 75 kmWilliamsburg County 79 kmBamberg County 85 kmBeaufort County 89 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
11:42 am EDT on 2 November 2018 ()
Where
in Summerville, SC · earthquakes near Summerville
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
4.4 km below the surface
Felt
16 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Dorchester County, 23 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Charleston liquefaction features, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2812 days ago

A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded in Summerville, SC, at 11:42 am EDT on 2 November 2018 (15:42 UTC). 16 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lincolnville, Sangaree, Ladson, Goose Creek, Ridgeville, Hanahan.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 52 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 33.0240, -80.1623. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorchester County, SC 23 km (15 mi) WNW earthquakes near Dorchester County
Berkeley County, SC 28 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Berkeley County
Charleston County, SC 32 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Charleston County
Colleton County, SC 50 km (31 mi) WSW earthquakes near Colleton County
Clarendon County, SC 71 km (44 mi) N earthquakes near Clarendon County
Orangeburg County, SC 75 km (47 mi) NW earthquakes near Orangeburg County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

24 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.8 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
  2. 2.5 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
  3. 1.6 6 km SSE of Centerville, South Carolina
  4. 1.6 6 km SW of Ladson, South Carolina
  5. 2.9 6 km SW of Ladson, South Carolina
  6. 2.2 3 km SSW of Centerville, South Carolina
  7. 1.9 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
  8. 1.8 11 km SSW of Centerville, South Carolina
  9. 2.2 1 km NE of Summerville, South Carolina
  10. 2.1 11 km SW of Centerville, South Carolina
  11. 1.6 3 km NNW of Summerville, South Carolina
  12. 1.7 1 km SSW of Sangaree, South Carolina
  13. 2.4 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
  14. 1.6 5 km SSE of Centerville, South Carolina
  15. 1.5 3 km S of Centerville, South Carolina

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.