1886 Charleston Earthquake
The Charleston Earthquake of 1886 was a powerful intraplate earthquake that hit Charleston, South Carolina and the East Coast of the US. After the 1811 and 1812 earthquakes in New Madrid, Missouri, it is one of the most powerful and damaging quakes to hit the southeastern United States. The shaking occurred at 9:50 p.m. on August 31, 1886 and lasted just under a minute. The earthquake caused severe damage in Charleston, damaging 2,000 buildings and causing $6 million worth in damage (over $141 million in 2009 dollars), while in the whole city the buildings were only valued at approximately $24 million. Between 60 and 110 lives were lost. Some of the damage is still seen today.
Read more about 1886 Charleston Earthquake: Damage, Prophecy, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the word earthquake:
“Through the din and desultoriness of noon, even in the most Oriental city, is seen the fresh and primitive and savage nature, in which Scythians and Ethiopians and Indians dwell. What is echo, what are light and shade, day and night, ocean and stars, earthquake and eclipse, there? The works of man are everywhere swallowed up in the immensity of nature. The AEgean Sea is but Lake Huron still to the Indian.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)