Almost all the inhabitants of a small town in western France have been evacuated this Saturday due to serious damage to their homes caused by two strong earthquakes, the authorities announced.
The first tremor occurred at 4:38 p.m. GMT on Friday, with a magnitude of 5.3 to 5.8, and the second occurred around 2:27 GMT with a magnitude of 4.6 to 5, according to the National Seismic Surveillance Network and the Central Seismological Bureau of France.
The tremors and numerous aftershocks struck around the city of Niort, resulting in several minor injuries and some 1,100 homes without power across the western region near the Atlantic coast, authorities said.
The small municipality of La Laigne has suffered the forced evacuation of most of its five hundred inhabitants, due to cracks in practically all the houses, some of which also suffered the collapse of the roof.
Terrified, the inhabitants concentrated in the center of the population at night until they were evacuated. Many went to the homes of relatives and others spent the night at the sports center in another nearby town.
“People are traumatized” by the tremor and the aftershocks, acknowledged the mayor, Philippe Pelletier, in statements to the France Info radio station, in which he explained that the firefighters coordinated the evacuation.
The local councilor explained that a security perimeter has been established around the bell tower of the local church due to the threat of collapse and that the cracks have also affected the town hall, although they continue to work on coordination.
“There are cracks through which you can pass your hand,” described the first deputy mayor, Bruno Asperti.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior explained that technicians are going to visit each of the affected homes, in a process that requires time, to determine if they can be repaired.
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