Photo: USGS
A 4.1-magnitude earthquake was reported in California on Tuesday (November 18), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was centered about eight miles east of Templeton, at a depth of 5.7 kilometers (about 3.5 miles). The USGS said it received 719 reports of people having felt the earthquake as of Tuesday afternoon.
There is currently no threat of a tsunami in the area, according to Tsunami.gov. The earthquake was reported at approximately 10:09 a.m. local time.
Tuesday's earthquake is the second 4.1-magnitude quake reported near Templeton during the past week. Magnitude, which replaced the former Richter scale, measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, according to the USGS.
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. California is among the states where earthquakes are most commonly reported in the U.S., along with Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
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.
