IRMO, S.C. — A small earthquake struck near the town of Irmo early Wednesday morning.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck at 4:07 a.m. about 3.7 miles northeast of the town. It's right along the Broad River, a few miles from the Harbison state forest.
The quake was a 2.2 magnitude, and was recorded about three and a half miles below the ground. At that strength, however, it's hard for people to feel an earthquake, since that's at the very low end of what humans could experience. However, there have been a few people on WLTX's Facebook page who say they did indeed feel it.
It's the second small earthquake that's been recorded in the Midlands in the last week. On July 10, a 1.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Fairfield County.
Earthquakes happen throughout the state but most occur near the coast.. Approximately 70 percent of earthquakes are in the coastal plain, with most happening in the Lowcountry, around Summerville and Bowman.
Back in 1886, Charleston was hit by a catastrophic earthquake. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.3, and was felt as far away and Cuba and New York. At least 60 people were killed, and thousands of building were damaged.
Structural damage extended hundreds of miles to cities in Alabama, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Geologists say that Charleston lies in one of the most seismically active areas in the eastern United States.