QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0mb_lg

Earthquake near Blanchard, LA

No earthquake was likely felt in Blanchard in the 24 hours to 7:52 pm CST (01:52 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 79 km (49 mi) SE, at 3:00 pm CDT on 21 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 78 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Blanchard

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) west of Blanchard, LA, at 2:26 am CDT on 1 April 2021 (07:26 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 55 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km W of Blanchard, Louisiana

21 km (13 mi) NW of Shreveport, LA

2:26 am CDT, Apr 1, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Caddo Parish 8 kmBossier Parish 34 kmHarrison County 38 kmMarion County 43 kmPanola County 57 kmWebster Parish 61 kmDe Soto Parish 62 kmCass County 66 kmRed River Parish 79 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:26 am CDT on 1 April 2021 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) west of Blanchard, LA · earthquakes near Blanchard
Magnitude
M 3.0 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
55 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Caddo Parish, 8 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1982 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 73 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Blanchard, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Shreveport 22 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 32.5857, -93.9689. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Caddo Parish, LA 8 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near Caddo Parish
Bossier Parish, LA 34 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Bossier Parish
Harrison County, TX 38 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near Harrison County
Marion County, TX 43 km (27 mi) WNW earthquakes near Marion County
Panola County, TX 57 km (35 mi) SW earthquakes near Panola County
Webster Parish, LA 61 km (38 mi) ENE earthquakes near Webster Parish

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.5 0 km WSW of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  2. 3.0 4 km ESE of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  3. 2.9 7 km WSW of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  4. 2.4 1 km SSW of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  5. 3.1 7 km S of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  6. 2.6 9 km SW of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  7. 3.1 2 km S of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  8. 3.0 4 km SSW of Mooringsport, Louisiana
  9. 2.1 3 km W of Doyline, Louisiana
  10. 3.2 8 km WNW of Blanchard, Louisiana
  11. 2.5 10 km SW of Mooringsport, Louisiana

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.