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USGS records rare earthquake in Florida

2.6 quake near Florida-Alabama line
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Posted at 2:54 PM, Mar 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-07 18:26:02-05

The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded a magnitude 2.6 earthquake in Western Florida, near the Florida and Alabama line.

A 2.6 magnitude earthquake is considered weak by USGS.

According to USGS, the magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded about six miles from Century, Florida just 15 minutes before midnight on Wednesday. Century is in Escambia County, right near the Florida and Alabama line.

You can read more about the earthquake here.

Earthquakes in Florida are rare because the state is not located near any shifting tectonic plates.

The last recorded earthquake in Florida was on September 10, 2006 when a 5.9 magnitude quake in the Gulf of Mexico was felt by residents in much of Florida, including in Tallahassee and Jacksonville. The quake was also felt in parts of Alabama, Louisiana, the Bahamas, and Mexico.

In 2016, another 3.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of Daytona Beach, though that earthquake was later found to be triggered by a man-made explosion by the U.S. Navy, according to USGS.