Volcanoes and movie monsters ruled out as causes for recent run of earthquakes in SC

Here’s what we know: There have been 21 earthquakes in the Columbia area in the past week, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

What is not certain is the cause of all the recent seismic activity.

While speculation has run rampant about the possible roots of the tremors, no single thing has been pinpointed as the cause of the earthquakes.

While some have asked legitimate questions about the genesis of the earthquakes, several others have have made more unbelievable proclamations about the rumbling in the Midlands.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division has tried to have fun on social media while confirming one quake after another. It definitely took a humorous approach to ruling out potential causes of the earthquakes in some recent posts on Facebook and Twitter.

While tackling a somewhat serious suggestion, SCEMD used comedy to say volcanoes are not the cause of the earthquakes.

“OK, a follower slid into our DMs rather concerned about volcanoes and whether or not our recent earthquake swarm could be prelude to a volcanic eruption,” SCEMD said in a post, before providing a definitive answer. “No. Nope. Not a chance.”

It cited the U.S. Geological Survey as a source for shooting down volcanoes.

“The geologic forces that generated volcanoes in the eastern United States millions of years ago no longer exist. Through plate tectonics, the eastern U.S. has been isolated from the global tectonic features (tectonic plate boundaries and hot spots in the mantle), that cause volcanic activity,” SCEMD said. “So new volcanic activity is not possible now or in the near future.”

Fair enough, but what about other man-made causes, or even monsters from movies and TV that are known for making the Earth shake beneath our feet.

Again, “No. Nope. Not a chance.”

Here’s a list of possible sources that SCEMD ruled out, while reminding followers that South Carolina is a seismically active state.

Fracking

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is more commonly known, is one method of the process of unconventional development of oil and natural gas, according to the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Fracking is a proven drilling technology used for extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy or water from deep underground.

While fracking has been linked to earthquakes in Oklahoma, the USGS said “fracking is not causing most of the induced earthquakes,” according to the Independent Petroleum Association of America.

Mining

Mining removes minerals and other materials from the ground.

Linked to seismic activity in other instances, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said last week that mining activity is not likely to be the cause of recent earthquakes, as mines in the Elgin area are shallow.

Tunneling

Defined as digging or forcing a passage underground or through something, tunneling was also ruled out as a cause of the recent earthquakes by the SCEMD.

Drug traffickers, like Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, built tunnels along the southern border of the U.S. to smuggle illegal narcotics into the country.

Military exercises

“Military exercises” has become code word in pop culture as an explanation for an otherwise inexplicable phenomena, like UFO sightings.

Nice to see a government agency ruling out military exercises as a cause for the earthquakes.

Kaiju

If you’re looking for a giant monster, a la Godzilla, made popular in Japanese movies and TV, you want a Kaiju. They often emerge from underground or beneath the sea to wreak havoc, in films popular in the U.S. such as “Pacific Rim” and “Cloverfield.”

Fortunately for South Carolina residents, no Mothra, Rodan or Ghidorah sightings have been reported.

Gozer

Gozer is the main villain in the “Ghostbusters” movie franchise and takes the gigantic form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the original 1984 film.

SCEMD has ruled out the ancient Sumerian god from Babylonian times as the cause of recent earthquakes, but keep your eyes on any marshmallows or Fluff just to be safe.

Grabboids

The giant, man-eating, earthworm-like creatures were popularized in the “Tremors” film franchise.

While they caused the ground to rumble before an attack, hence the name “Tremors,” neither they nor any Kevin Bacon dance moves are believed to be causing the earthquakes.

Vecna

No spoilers here.

While Vecna wreaks havoc from his home in the Upside Down in the fourth season of the hit show “Stranger Things,” SCEMD doesn’t see the fearsome sentient creature as the culprit behind earthquakes in the Midlands.

Cthulhu

Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity with an octopus-like head created by writer H. P. Lovecraft.

Although Cthulhu is known for his ability to drive any human that gazes upon his form to insanity, he has not been linked to any seismic activity in the Palmetto State.