Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Summerville, SC
USGS: 8 km NNW of Summerville, South Carolina
23 km (14 mi) NNW of North Charleston, SC · 10 km (6 mi) N of Summerville, SC
- When
- 12:27 am EST on 14 November 2020 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) NNW of Summerville, SC · earthquakes near Summerville
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 5.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Dorchester County, 19 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- Charleston liquefaction features, 7 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 2074 days ago
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) NNW of Summerville, SC, at 12:27 am EST on 14 November 2020 (05:27 UTC). 8 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: Sangaree, Lincolnville, Ridgeville, Ladson, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 420,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 38× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 33.0943, -80.1997. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester County, SC | 19 km (12 mi) | W | earthquakes near Dorchester County |
| Berkeley County, SC | 26 km (16 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Berkeley County |
| Charleston County, SC | 41 km (25 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Charleston County |
| Colleton County, SC | 51 km (31 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Colleton County |
| Clarendon County, SC | 63 km (39 mi) | N | earthquakes near Clarendon County |
| Orangeburg County, SC | 68 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Orangeburg County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
22 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
- 2.5 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
- 1.6 6 km SSE of Centerville, South Carolina
- 1.6 6 km SW of Ladson, South Carolina
- 2.9 6 km SW of Ladson, South Carolina
- 2.2 3 km SSW of Centerville, South Carolina
- 1.9 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
- 1.8 11 km SSW of Centerville, South Carolina
- 2.2 1 km NE of Summerville, South Carolina
- 2.1 11 km SW of Centerville, South Carolina
- 1.6 3 km NNW of Summerville, South Carolina
- 1.7 1 km SSW of Sangaree, South Carolina
- 2.4 6 km SSW of Ladson, South Carolina
- 1.6 5 km SSE of Centerville, South Carolina
- 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.