1886 Charleston earthquake

Damage done to Tradd Street, after the earthquake of 1886

One of the many "earthquake bolts" found in Charleston houses of the time.

The 1886 Charleston earthquake took place around 9:50 pm local time on August 31 with an estimated moment magnitude between 6.9 and 7.3. The quake caused 60 deaths and damage between five and six million dollars to just over 2,000 buildings in the Southeastern United States.^[1] At the time, about 49.000 people lived in Charleston. Before the earthquake, there had been very little or no historical earthquake activity in the Charleston, South Carolina area. That is unusual. As of 2020, the reasons for the earthquake are not fully known.

The shock was felt as far away as Boston, Massachusetts, as far northwest as Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as far west as New Orleans, Louisiana and as far south as Cuba.^[2]

Within Charleston, almost all the buildings were damaged. Most were demolished and rebuilt.

Earthqake bolts (anchor plates) were added to unreinforced masonry buildings to add support to the structure without having to demolish the building due to instability. The bolts pass through existing masonry walls tying the walls on opposite sides together for stability.

1886 Charleston Earthquake Media

Charleston, SC Earthquake - 1886
Charleston, SC Earthquake - 1886
Isoseismal map of the Eastern United States contoured to show the more localized variation' in the reported intensities for the 1886 Charleston earthquake. Contoured intensity levels are shown by Arabic numerals

References

↑ Bollinger, G. A. (June 1972). "Historical and Recent Seismic Activity". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. Geo Science World. 62 (3): 851–864. doi:10.1785/BSSA0620030851. S2CID 131932161. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
↑ "Charleston Quake". The USGS. Archived from the original on 2016-12-25. Retrieved August 23, 2020. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

This short article about history can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[1] Bollinger, G. A. (June 1972). "Historical and Recent Seismic Activity". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. Geo Science World. 62 (3): 851–864. doi:10.1785/BSSA0620030851. S2CID 131932161. Retrieved August 23, 2020.

[2] "Charleston Quake". The USGS. Archived from the original on 2016-12-25. Retrieved August 23, 2020. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[1]

[2]