The quake was the second largest in the state's history
Credit: US Geological Survey
NEED TO KNOW
- Northwest Louisiana experienced a moderate earthquake around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 5
- The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake as 4.9 in magnitude
- The earthquake was the second largest in the state’s history, and the largest in the last two decades
A Louisiana town woke up to a historically strong earthquake on Thursday, March 5.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9 jostled residents in Coushatta, a town in northwest Louisiana, at 5:30 a.m., according to KSLA News 12 and USA Today, citing the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS recorded the earthquake initially as 4.4 in magnitude, which was later upgraded. The epicenter of the quake was just north of Coushatta, and occurred at a "shallow" depth of 5 kilometers (about 3.1 miles), per CBS affiliate 4WWL, citing USGS.
It's uncommon for the region to experience earthquakes of this magnitude. The March 5 quake is the second-largest recorded in Louisiana history, according to KSLA. The largest was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake in Grand Isle on Feb. 9, 2006.
Credit: US Geological Survey
An earthquake between 2.5 and 5.4 in magnitude, like the March 5 one in Louisiana, on the Richter scale, is "often felt, but only causes minor damage," according to the Michigan Technological Institute (MTI). About 500,000 earthquakes of this magnitude take place every year.
State Sen. Thomas Pressly, who lives in Shreveport, told USA Today that the earthquake woke him up.
"A 4.4 earthquake isn't insignificant," Pressly told the outlet. His wife slept through it because she is from California, where earthquakes are more common, Pressly said.
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Credit: US Geological Survey
Coushatta, a small town with less than 2,000 residents, experienced a smaller earthquake last week, reports the Shreveport Times. This quake was smaller in scale, measuring a magnitude of 2.6.
Earthquakes that measure between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude on the Richter scale can be felt, but only causes minor damage, according to MTI. About 500,000 earthquakes in that range happen each year, the institute notes.
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