mining explosion · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Cayce, SC
No earthquake was likely felt in Cayce in the 24 hours to 9:10 am EST (14:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 19 km (12 mi) NW, at 2:32 am EDT on 19 March 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 110 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cayce
No: USGS classifies this as a mining explosion, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.8 mining explosion was recorded in Cayce, SC, at 3:35 pm EST on 17 February 2023 (20:35 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km NE of Cayce, South Carolina
16 km (10 mi) WSW of Columbia, SC
- When
- 3:35 pm EST on 17 February 2023 ()
- Where
- in Cayce, SC · earthquakes near Cayce
- South Carolina today
- every earthquake in South Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Richland County, 16 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1299 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cayce, SC
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Columbia 4 km, intensity II · Dentsville 14 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
USGS catalogues this as mining explosion, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 33.9762, -81.0611. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, SC | 16 km (10 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Richland County |
| Lexington County, SC | 22 km (13 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Lexington County |
| Calhoun County, SC | 42 km (26 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Calhoun County |
| Fairfield County, SC | 47 km (29 mi) | N | earthquakes near Fairfield County |
| Kershaw County, SC | 59 km (37 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kershaw County |
| Newberry County, SC | 61 km (38 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Newberry County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 9 km NNE of Jenkinsville, South Carolina
- 2.2 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 1.9 11 km N of Irmo, South Carolina
- 2.1 3 km W of Irmo, South Carolina
- 2.2 5 km SSE of Lake Murray of Richland, South Carolina
- 3.0 5 km WSW of Irmo, South Carolina
- 1.8 5 km WSW of Irmo, South Carolina
- 2.0 5 km WSW of Irmo, South Carolina
- 2.8 4 km WSW of Irmo, South Carolina
- 2.1 5 km SSW of Lugoff, South Carolina
- 2.7 5 km ESE of Elgin, South Carolina
- 2.0 7 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 2.6 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 2.3 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
- 1.6 6 km ESE of Elgin, 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.