An earthquake jolts Red River Parish early this morning. Rob Skoumal with the U.S. Geological Survey says it was a magnitude 4.9 that struck near Coushatta at around 5:30 this morning.
“Certainly, thousands of people felt this earthquake. 4.9 is pretty large. We don’t expect damage from this type of earthquake, but it was fairly widely felt,” Skoumal said.
Skoumal says while people might not associate earthquakes with Louisiana, they’re not entirely unheard of here.
“We expect about one, magnitude 3.0 or greater, earthquake in Louisiana every five years or so. So this isn’t super unusual,” Skoumal noted.
Skoumal says while we may never know the cause of the earthquake, humans cannot be completely ruled out.
“There is a history of induced earthquakes. These are earthquakes that are caused by people. Not particularly in this area, but 70 miles to the west, just across the state border. Those are earthquakes are caused by wastewater and disposal,” Skoumal explained.
Skoumal says there will likely be aftershocks, with a very slight chance of one registering at least a magnitude 4.0.
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