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The aftermath of a fire caused by the 1886 Charleston earthquake, seen from near the intersection of King and Broad streets, photographed by William E. Wilson.
Photo courtesy of University of South Carolina South Caroliniana Library
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Bird's Oil and Paint store at the corner of East Bay and Cumberland streets, photographed by William E. Wilson.
Photo courtesy of University of South Carolina South Caroliniana Library
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A fissure runs through the side of St. Michael's Church in downtown Charleston, photographed by John K. Hillers.
Photo courtesy of University of South Carolina South Caroliniana Library
As Charlestonians lay in their beds and the city bid goodnight to a sultry summer day, the ground shook mightily. Fewer than 60 seconds was all it took for the largest earthquake recorded in the Southeast to this day—and one of the largest ever in eastern North America—to rattle Charleston, damage the city and claim 60 lives.
Aug. 31, 1886, was marred by the type of disaster that today, 140 years later, could incapacitate swaths of South Carolina society.
"We believe the Charleston earthquake was magnitude seven," says Steven Jaumé, an associate professor at the College of Charleston who specializes in seismology.
The ripple effects of the shock caused structural damage as far west as central Ohio, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Aftershocks continued for years afterward, with noticeable activity until 1888. And for nearly three decades beyond that quake, the state experienced the most active earthquake period in its history, officials say.
Despite extensive study, the 1886 earthquake remains an enigma in many ways, Jaumé says.
An unsolved mystery
The mystery of the quake is largely due to its occurrence on a blind fault. This means that while damage occurred, there are no visible signs of the earthquake on the surface of the earth.
"The actual fault that moves does not reach the earth's surface," Jaumé explains.
It makes studying and learning from the event difficult because researchers like Jaumé must examine structural damage patterns to understand the earth's behavior during the tremor. It differs from other major events, such as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which left clear fault line markings, including cracks in the earth's surface and landscape shifts. As a result, it's hard to pinpoint exactly where the Charleston earthquake originated.
"We know approximately. It was under Summerville somewhere," Jaumé says.
Seismology equipment was limited in those days, so there's no recording of what happened beneath the earth's surface.
"The data is basically gone now," says Scott Howard, the state geologist for the Department of Natural Resources. "There was no way to record them."
Despite the lack of hard data, experts at the time did a good job reporting what happened, Jaumé notes. College of Charleston professors were active in studying damage and recording their insights. Geologist C.E. Dutton created The Dutton Report for the U.S. Geological Survey, offering an extensive recap of the earthquake.
"Given the time period, it was really well reported," Jaumé says.
What about more recent earthquakes?
Today, a recent series, or "swarm," of earthquakes across South Carolina has some wondering whether more significant seismic activity, maybe akin to the 1886 earthquake, could be on the way. More than 90 small earthquakes have been recorded in the state in the last three years, according to records from the U.S. Geological Survey, with many of them happening in the Elgin area east of Columbia and around Lake Greenwood.
But Howard says the recent tremors are normal and confirm what he and others have studied about the state's faults.
"They seem to be confined to a small area," Howard explains. "Small magnitudes, small movement."
If 1886 happened again
What could an earthquake like the one in 1886 do in Charleston today? Most likely, cause a lot more damage and a lot more injury, given the vast growth in population and property development in the Lowcountry, Jaumé says.
A 2001 study by the State Emergency Management Division estimates a similar magnitude earthquake in modern-day Charleston would cause nearly 45,000 casualties, including 9,000 major injuries that require hospitalization and roughly 900 deaths. In other words, such a quake today could be 15 times as fatal as it was in 1886.
The report also indicates some 200,000 people would likely be displaced from their homes, and more than 250 fires would ignite. Such a disaster would result in more than $20 billion in damage, the 2001 report estimated—that's about $38 billion in today's dollars.
Despite the severity of the historical event, Jaumé says Charleston responded well in 1886. Firefighters, many of them Civil War veterans, prevented the fires from spreading throughout the city.
Today, the state is relatively well positioned were another major tremor to occur. Jaumé often runs scenarios and trainings with emergency management officials to help them prepare for a major earthquake.
"South Carolina is probably one of the better prepared states," Jaumé says.
Building codes have improved, and while they may not be as stringent as those on the West Coast, where geologic faults are more hazardous, they are an improvement over building standards in 1886.
While earthquakes can't be predicted, Jaumé says, people and societies can prepare for them. For him, the 1886 Charleston earthquake is a reminder to everyone that disastrous earthquakes don't just happen in California or other Western states. They can happen right here at home.