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2.4 Magnitude Earthquake Reported Near St. Stephen

ST. STEPHEN, S.C.–If you felt the earth shake in northern Berkeley County on Saturday, you weren’t imagining it.

According to the United States Geological Survey, a 2.4 magnitude earthquake hit 12 miles southeast of Saint Stephen shortly after 2:00 a.m.

On the USGS’s intensity scale, the quake’s magnitude comes in at a level 1. This means that Saturday’s earthquake was felt only by a very few under “especially favorable conditions.”

Intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location and is determined from effects on people, human structures, and the natural environment.

The last time the Charleston area experienced a major earthquake was August 31, 1886.   It claimed the lives of approximately 100 people.  The initial shock lasted nearly one minute. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.3 and was felt over 2.5 million square miles, from Cuba to New York, and Bermuda to the Mississippi River. Structural damage extended several hundred miles to cities in Alabama, Ohio, and Kentucky.

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Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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