Question: What’s the worst earthquake in North Carolina history?
Answer: The 1916 Skyland earthquake, which registered a magnitude between 5.2 and 5.5 and was centered in Buncombe County, ranks as North Carolina’s largest with an epicenter inside the state. It toppled chimneys, cracked windows, and was widely felt across multiple states. The 1886 Charleston, South Carolina, quake, which registered a magnitude of ~7.3, caused the most serious damage felt in North Carolina, toppling chimneys and cracking walls statewide without deaths or injuries there.
