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Over the past year, numerous small earthquakes have been recorded in our congressional district. While many of these have been centered in Kershaw and Fairfield Counties, rumblings have been felt farther out.

To date, none of these recent earthquakes have caused major damage; they’ve all been relatively minor on the seismic scale according to the U.S. Geological Survey. However, the unusually high volume of these quakes has been a source of concern for many people in our area.

Is there something bigger on the horizon? How much longer will these go on? These are just some of the questions people have been asking recently.

I recently had a chance to speak with Dr. Scott White, who is a professor at the University of South Carolina. One of his areas of expertise is tectonics and earthquakes. Dr. White was able to provide some outstanding information for us, which I’d like to share with you.

According to Dr. White, the recent frequency of these small earthquakes does not foreshadow a larger event to come. He says the particular fault zone on which these quakes are centered aren’t known for producing large, destructive earthquakes.

Dr. White says it’s “unusual but not abnormal” for us to have this many small earthquakes so close together. And while it’s impossible to predict if, when, or where the next earthquake may occur, he believes we may be near the end of this current series of earthquakes.

You can catch my full interview with Dr. White here. Overall, his message seems to be good news for those concerned about these earthquakes.