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. 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.