While the Lowcountry isn’t a stranger to natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and extreme heat, did you know 139 years ago the area was rocked by an earthquake?
On August 31, 1886, the Charleston area experienced the largest earthquake to ever hit the southeast, causing nearly $6 million in damage — around $170 million today.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located in the upper Ashley River region near Summerville (now called the Middleton Place-Summerville Seismic Zone), and damage was reported several states away. Seismographs weren’t around then, but experts now estimate it carried a magnitude of around 7.3.
Take a look at historical photos of the damage. Don’t skip the captions — they provide valuable details, including the cost of the damage.
Here’s a quick science lesson: There are several types of earthquakes, but that occurred here in 1886 was an intraplate earthquake. This is pretty rare and happens within a tectonic plate, away from where two tectonic plates meet.
