Myths & Facts

There are many, many fault lines running throughout South Carolina.

There is no fracking anywhere in South Carolina since there are no natural gas reserves here.

Earthquakes can strike anywhere, according to USGS. In fact, earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains hit different, causing noticeable ground shaking over much farther distances. Eastern North America has older rocks which have had more time to heal. When an earthquake occurs here, many more people report feeling it because seismic waves are able to travel more effectively. Earthquakes on the East Coast also tend to cause higher frequency shaking, or higher back and forth motion, than quakes of similar magnitude in the West.

You may have been taught that a doorway is one of the safest places to be during an earthquake. But in most cases, doorways are no stronger than the rest of the building, and they do not provide protection from flying or falling objects, which pose the greatest risk of injury to people during a quake. Instead, if you can move safely, get under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on. Drop to your hands and knees and cover your head and neck with your arms. Learn why rescuers and researchers worldwide recommend DROP, COVER, HOLD ON as the best thing you can do to protect yourself.

If you are indoors, stay there until the shaking stops and you are sure that it is safe to exit. Research shows that most injuries occur when people within a building move around or attempt to go outside.

Do not assume that you are safe immediately after the shaking has stopped. Aftershocks can occur minutes after the first quake ends. While they are usually not as strong, they can cause additional damage and injuries. Drop, cover and hold on again in the case of aftershocks.

Changes in animal behavior sometimes have been observed prior to earthquakes, but that behavior is not consistent, and sometimes there's no perceptible behavior change prior to an earthquake. It’s a fascinating aspect of earthquakes but at this point, only anecdotal evidence exists.

Each magnitude level represents about 30 times more energy released. It takes 30 magnitude 3s to equal the energy released in a magnitude 4, 900 magnitude 3s to equal a magnitude 5, and 729 billion magnitude 3s to equal a single magnitude 9. So while a small quake may temporarily ease stress on a fault line, it does not prevent a large temblor.

Per, USGS, Worldwide the probability that an earthquake will be followed within 3 days by a large earthquake nearby is somewhere just over 6%. In California, that probability is about 6%. This means that there is about a 94% chance that any earthquake will NOT be a foreshock. In California, about half of the biggest earthquakes were preceded by foreshocks; the other half were not. At this time, we cannot tell whether or not an earthquake is a foreshock until something larger happens after it... so only in retrospect.

That's true -- provided you're talking about buildings constructed under current building codes. In the case of older buildings, retrofitting -- bringing the building up to modern standards -- is up to the building's owners.

Research shows that earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater have remained constant throughout the century and have actually decreased in recent years. However, since there are a greater number of seismological centers and instruments capable of locating many small earthquakes that went undetected in earlier years, it may seem as if there are more.

It's true that earthquakes can't be stopped, but you can be prepared. You can prepare an earthquake kit (food, water, flashlight, etc.), practice "Drop, Cover, Hold On" drills at home with your family and at work, and develop an earthquake plan (where would you meet family members if you weren't together when an earthquake hit?).

A popular literary device is a fault that opens during an earthquake to swallow up an inconvenient character. Gaping faults exist only in fiction. During an earthquake, the ground moves across a fault, not away from it. If the fault could open, there would be no friction. If there were no friction, there would be no earthquakes.

Many people believe that earthquakes are more common in certain kinds of weather. In fact, no correlation with weather has been found. Earthquakes begin many kilometers (miles) below the region affected by surface weather. People tend to notice earthquakes that fit the pattern and forget the ones that don't. Also, every region of the world has a story about earthquake weather, but the type of weather is whatever they had for their most memorable earthquake.

A common belief is that people always panic and run around madly during and after earthquakes, creating more danger for themselves and others. Research shows that people usually take protective actions and help others both during and after the shaking. Most people don't get too shaken up about being shaken up! The Great ShakeOut earthquake drill is a great way to practice and be prepared for earthquakes.

There is currently no scientific way to determine when earthquakes will occur. Scientists can make statements about earthquake rates and where earthquakes are likely to occur at some future point, but they cannot calculate when and where earthquakes of certain magnitudes will strike.

Several recent damaging earthquakes HAVE happened in the early morning hours so many people assume that all big earthquakes happened then. In fact, earthquakes occur at all times during the day.

While seismic activity around volcanoes is quite common in other parts of the world, there is no chance of a volcano erupting anywhere in South Carolina. At least, not for the next several hundred million years.