An earthquake struck off the coast of South Carolina this morning and due to the weak intensity of the quake, there is no tsunami threat along the U.S. East Coast at this time. According to USGS, at 3:28 am early this morning, a weak magnitude 2.0 earthquake just east of Charleston, South Carolina over the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The earthquake’s epicenter was 30 miles from Charleston and had a depth of 10.5 km.
According to USGS, earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or less are rarely felt or heard by people, but once they exceed 2.0 more and more people can feel them. While damage is possible with magnitude 3.0 events or greater, significant damage and casualties usually don’t occur until the magnitude of a seismic event rises to a 5.5 or greater rated event.
Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. Out in the depths of the ocean, tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height. But as the waves travel towards land, they build up to higher and higher heights as the depth of the ocean decreases. The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth rather than the distance from the source of the wave. Tsunami waves may travel as fast as jet planes over deep waters, only slowing down when reaching shallow waters. While tsunamis are often referred to as tidal waves, this name is discouraged by oceanographers because tides have little to do with these giant waves…