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Was that a tremor in Irmo today?


shahram72

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I was at a listing appointment today at about 2:30 and my clients and I heard two really low frequency rumbles. I knew it wasn't thunder. Was that an earthquake? We had one last year. Aren't they supposed to be more rare than that here? Is there any real danger? The homes here are not built to withstand much in the way of wind or earthquake. My clients thought it was thunder, but I am from Florida and know what thunder sounds like. I had never heard (and felt) anything like that before. The ground definitely shook very slightly, Anyone driving would have missed it.

Shahram

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It wouldn't suprise me. There was that 3 pointer last year in the same area. SC is in a relatively moderate risk zone for earthquakes. Charleston had one in the late 1800's that devastated much of the city. Earthquakes are definately possible here, but I wouldn't be too concenerad about a big one.

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I still can't find any news about it online. Has anyone seen or read anything about it yet? Post a link here please! I just reported it to the USGS. My wife, who heard the one from last year, confirmed it sounded exactly like last year's, which I missed. This was my first one! Much less scary than Florida thunderstorms. And BTW, todays storms, and all others I have experienced here are a joke! But I'm glad for that, they get nasty in FL.

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Yeah, I checked the USGS site when I read your post and they haven't recorded anything. If it wasn't some weird thunderstorm related activity then it could have been a sonic boom or something. I dunno. I live near Irmo, but I was sleeping this afternoon. :) I felt a small quake in West Columbia about 10 years ago... pretty freaky.

I agree with you on the storms... my wife is from south Florida and I've been in some whoppers down there. I have observed that t-storms over the past several summers don't seem nearly as intense here as they were 5-10 years ago. I'm not sure if I'm just making that up or if the weather patterns have actually changed. I also moved from West Columbia to the Irmo-Chapin area and I would argue (whether it is fact, I don't know) that different parts of the region have noticably different weather patterns. And finally... what is up with thunderstorms in South Carolina in January? What the heck.

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Being from Florida, I am also VERY familiar with sonic booms, every time the Shuttle flies over Orlando, every building shakes, violently sometimes. This was not like that. I am sure I will find nothing on it at all, but it was completely different from the thunder that was going on at the same time. Great, now I'm crazy. I am surprised that I cannot find links to seismograph records in this day and age. If you looked at a tape from this afternoon, you would see something.

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And finally... what is up with thunderstorms in South Carolina in January? What the heck.

Its not unusual to get thunderstorms in the North Carolina sandhills at any time of the year.

The risk assessment map looks interesting but i question two things:

1. Wouldnt the fall line be a fault line?

2. Further north, the Palisades running along the western side of the Hudson River seperating NY and NJ, that i believe is a fault line due to its rock formation and sudden drop in elevation.

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I still can't find any news about it online. Has anyone seen or read anything about it yet? Post a link here please! I just reported it to the USGS. My wife, who heard the one from last year, confirmed it sounded exactly like last year's, which I missed. This was my first one! Much less scary than Florida thunderstorms. And BTW, todays storms, and all others I have experienced here are a joke! But I'm glad for that, they get nasty in FL.

True. SC is one of the safest states with regards to all forms of hazardous weather except for ice storms and the occasional hurricane. The Midlands in particular are safe from the extreme of each of these. The heat is pretty bad for a few months though....

Its not unusual to get thunderstorms in the North Carolina sandhills at any time of the year.

The risk assessment map looks interesting but i question two things:

1. Wouldnt the fall line be a fault line?

2. Further north, the Palisades running along the western side of the Hudson River seperating NY and NJ, that i believe is a fault line due to its rock formation and sudden drop in elevation.

Nope, the fall line marks the area where shorline used to be. It has nothing to do with faults.

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