Porch Construction in Summerville, SC

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) — A series of small earthquakes over the past week has startled residents across Summerville and parts of the Lowcountry, marking an unusually active stretch for an area that typically feels only a handful of noticeable tremors each year.

Three earthquakes were confirmed near Summerville in just seven days, prompting concern, conversation, and questions about what’s happening beneath the ground, even though no injuries or major damage were reported.

For many neighbors, the earthquakes came without warning. Shirlene, a mom and longtime Summerville resident of 35 years, said the experience was frightening, unlike anything she remembers feeling before.

“That was scary,” she said. “Because it made the house move, and the sound was so loud.”

She recalled being shaken awake as her home shifted.

“I was scared. I was afraid — especially the house shift and my bed,” Shirlene said. “And the sound — it was really scary.”

Other residents reported similar experiences, describing houses shaking for several seconds and loud noises that sounded like explosions. One neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera even captured audio from the moment the earthquake struck, with a booming sound clearly audible in the recording.

Jessica, another Summerville resident, said she felt and heard one of the quakes while at work. “I happened to be working at the library, and I was just exiting the bathroom when I felt this shaking and heard it too,” she said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s not the HVAC.’”

According to officials, the most recent quake was recorded early Monday morning in Dorchester County near the Kings Grant area. That tremor measured a magnitude 1.6. Before that, a stronger 2.9 magnitude earthquake struck late Saturday night, just before 10:40 p.m., rattling homes across the Tri-County area. Its shallow depth made it more noticeable to residents, even though experts classified it as minor.

The first quake in the series occurred Tuesday afternoon, measuring magnitude 2.3. Residents reported shaking and loud noises, but no damage.

Why are these earthquakes happening?

Local civil and structural engineer Gene Brislin, who also lives in Summerville, says the earthquakes are the result of stress being released deep beneath the Earth’s surface. “We are in a bad spot,” Brislin explained. “As stresses build up, the crack gets a little bigger, there’s some stress relief, and we get vibrations. That’s what happened in Summerville.”

Brislin says tectonic plates, massive slabs of rock beneath the Earth’s surface, are constantly moving. Most of the time, that movement goes unnoticed. But along cracks in the Earth’s crust, known as fault lines, plates can become stuck. One of those fault lines runs through the Lowcountry. As stress builds and is released in smaller bursts, residents may feel minor earthquakes.

“The threshold for the smaller ones to occur in terms of stress is much lower,” Brislin said. “In my opinion, the more smaller ones we have, the better off we are.”

Experts stress that these minor earthquakes are not necessarily a sign of a larger event to come.

“Many times, it’s not indicative of some bigger event that’s going to occur,” Brislin said. “It’s just a sign of this bad spot that we’re in.”

Brislin says helicorders are devices used to record seismic signals from a seismometer. Each line of data represents a specific time interval, allowing for the visualization of seismic activity over time.

Officials urge preparedness, awareness — not panic

Officials say South Carolina experiences dozens of earthquakes each year, most of them too small to be felt. While the recent activity has drawn attention, there are no reports of injuries or significant damage.

Still, emergency officials encourage residents to:

Some neighbors said the recent shaking prompted them to double-check their insurance policies, just in case. The recent earthquakes have also renewed discussion at the State House. State Rep.Gil Gatch says the activity highlights the importance of awareness, especially for people living near fault lines.

“I filed this bill wanting people to just be aware,” Gatch said. “We have dozens and dozens of mini earthquakes that nobody ever knows happen because nobody can really feel them.”

Gatch is the main sponsor of House Bill 3227, which would require insurance companies to notify policyholders about the availability of earthquake insurance, particularly for those living in fault-line areas. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, and Industry. Gatch says he hopes lawmakers will act before a more damaging earthquake occurs.

While the recent earthquakes have been unsettling for many, experts emphasize there is no immediate cause for concern.

“These smaller earthquakes are really just signs of where the weak spots in the Earth’s crust are,” Brislin said. For now, neighbors like Shirlene say they’re relieved no one was hurt, but they’ll be paying closer attention the next time their house creaks or the ground feels unsteady.

John Travis Peterson, 38, of Summerville, was the operator of Cane Bay Tire and Auto LLC

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. —

A South Carolina business owner is accused of continuing to operate his business without a license and threatening an official investigating his business.

According to the South Carolina Department of Revenue, John Travis Peterson, 38, of Summerville, was the operator of Cane Bay Tire and Auto LLC, whose retail license was revoked in June 2025.

Peterson was arrested on Monday and charged with four counts of furnishing a false tax document and one count each of operating without a retail license, making a threat, and simple assault.

According to warrants, when SCDOR employees returned to the business to provide revocation orders and violation documents to Peterson, Peterson gave a false name and signed the documents using this name on multiple occasions.

He is also accused of making threats and assaulting an SCDOR employee in an attempt to force them to leave the business’s location.

The following is taken from the warrant:

"When the defendant received the written violation, he became enraged, tearing up the notice and telling the victim and his subordinate to leave. The victim and his subordinate left that building and headed towards another building situated on the property to investigate a claim the defendant made of that building being a separate business. Before the victim could get to the front door of the other building, the defendant positioned himself in front of the victim, blocking his access.

"The defendant raised his voice at the victim stating 'I told you to leave. You are going to leave, or I will forcibly remove you.' The defendant kept repeating the phrase 'you are going to leave, or I will force you to leave.'

The defendant is also accused of pushing the SCDOR employee repeatedly with his chest and belly while yelling.

If convicted, Peterson faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and/or a fine of $5,000 for each count of furnishing a false tax document, 30 days in jail and/or a $500 fine for each of the assault and threat counts, and 30 days in jail and/or a fine of $200 for the charge of operating without a retail license.