ELGIN, S.C. — South Carolina's series of earthquakes in the Lugoff and Elgin areas has continued for yet another day.
The latest earthquakes were considerably smaller than the ones that got so much attention over the last week. However, they suggest that the swarm that started in late December isn't letting up.
The first of Friday's earthquakes occurred around 5:45 a.m. and like the more than 40 that preceded it, occurred in the area of I-20 and Fort Jackson Road in Kershaw County.
The second earthquake was in virtually the same area and registered as a magnitude 2.1 around 8:45 a.m.
A third earthquake, magnitude 1.26, took place at 1:46 p.m. and was 4.7 miles southeast of Elgin.
Earthquakes below a magnitude of 2.5 tend to be pretty hard for someone to feel. As of 12:40 p.m., only about eight people reported to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that they felt the smaller of the two. The slightly larger and later earthquake, however, was felt by about 61 people the USGS report suggests.
However, in the last week alone, larger quakes the likes of which haven't been seen since 2014 have rattled much of the state from their sources deep below Kershaw County. The region experienced a 3.4 magnitude quake on Sunday. Then, on Wednesday the area was rattled by seven more earthquakes - among them one of magnitude 3.5 followed by another of 3.6 within hours.
Whether similarly-sized - or larger - earthquakes occur remains to be seen. However, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division has already confirmed that the current swarm, which began on December 27, is the longest localized grouping of earthquakes to strike in South Carolina's recorded history.