A minor earthquake happened at 11:30 a.m. about 4 miles southeast of Elgin, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division and federal geologists confirmed Saturday. Elgin is about 20 miles northeast of Columbia.
The quake reached 1.8 magnitude, which is likely too weak to even be felt.
From late December to early February, Elgin and its neighbor, Lugoff, had 18 earthquakes, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources. The first and strongest was a 3.3 magnitude quake on Dec. 27. The last earthquake struck on Feb. 2 and reach magnitude 1.5.
Scientists told The State in January that earthquakes can, and often do, happen in bunches with the first quake being followed by aftershocks. But experts were perplexed as to why the aftershocks kept coming for as long as they did.
No major damage or injuries have been reported from any of the seismic activity.
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