Photo: USGS
A 4.9-magnitude earthquake was reported in Louisiana on Thursday (March 5), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was recorded 4.9 kilometers from of Red River Parish near the town of Coushatta and centered at a depth of 5.0 kilometers (about 3.1 miles) at 5:30 a.m. local time. The USGS said it received 1,163 reports of people having felt the earthquake at the time of publication on Thursday.
No aftershocks were reported at the time of publication. The 4.9-magnitude earthquake was the largest in Coushatta this year, while Louisiana has had two earthquakes measuring 1.5-magnitude or greater in the past 30 days and 11 in the past 365 days.
The Louisiana earthquake was reported hours after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake was reported in Alaska on Wednesday (March 4), according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake was recorded 6.4 kilometers (about four miles) east of Attu Station and centered at a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6.2 miles) at 9:54 a.m. local time.
Earthquakes measured between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude can be felt by a large population, however, rarely results in much damage, according to Michigan Tech via the Sacramento Bee. An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes are reported worldwide annually, however, around 100,000 are felt and only 100 typically result in serious damage.
Officials strongly advise that anyone caught in an earthquake should drop, cover and hold on, according to the Sacramento Bee.