Officials hold town hall on SC earthquakes

ELGIN, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Officials held a virtual town hall on Wednesday to discuss a swarm of earthquakes hitting South Carolina since December.

Geologists say the swarm began with a 3.3 magnitude earthquake near Elgin on Dec. 27. Since then, 64 low-magnitude earthquakes have occurred in the area of Elgin and Lugoff.

According to experts, it is the longest swarm of earthquakes in recent history.

Officials with Kershaw County, the town of Elgin, South Carolina Emergency Management Division, the Department of Natural Resources, Duke Energy and the Department of Transportation were all part of the town hall.

Geologists say the swarm began with a 3.3 magnitude earthquake near Elgin on Dec. 27. Since then, dozens of low-magnitude earthquakes have occurred.

Scott Howard, the state geologist, said during the town hall that it’s just “happenstance” that the quakes are happening near sand and mineral mines.

A study is being conducted to give scientists a better understanding of the cause - which may have to do with a large rock structure along the Piedmont fault line.

“There are earthquakes occurring all over South Carolina and there just happens to be this one little swarm that’s going on right now in Elgin,” Howard said. “There does seem to be a large structural-associated fault that is probably the smoking gun in this situation.”

The study likely won’t be completed for another few months.

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