Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Columbia, SC
USGS: 7 km NE of Jenkinsville, South Carolina
43 km (27 mi) NW of Columbia, SC · 106 km (66 mi) SSW of Charlotte, NC
- When
- 5:50 am EDT on 26 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 40 km (25 mi) NNW of Columbia, SC · earthquakes near Columbia
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Fairfield County, 13 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1801 days ago
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) NNW of Columbia, SC, at 5:50 am EDT on 26 October 2021 (09:50 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Winnsboro Mills, Winnsboro, Chapin, Lake Murray of Richland, Irmo, Blythewood.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 34.3192, -81.2358. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield County, SC | 13 km (8 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fairfield County |
| Newberry County, SC | 34 km (21 mi) | W | earthquakes near Newberry County |
| Chester County, SC | 42 km (26 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chester County |
| Richland County, SC | 45 km (28 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Richland County |
| Lexington County, SC | 48 km (30 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lexington County |
| Union County, SC | 54 km (34 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Union County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
18 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 3.6 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 1.9 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 2.1 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 3.5 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 3.4 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 2.8 5 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 3.3 5 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
- 1.8 5 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
- 1.7 5 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 2.6 5 km SW of Lugoff, South Carolina
- 2.3 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 3.3 5 km SSW of Lugoff, South Carolina
- 2.0 6 km NE of Jenkinsville, South Carolina
- 2.3 8 km N of Jenkinsville, 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.