An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 to 5.8 was felt on Friday June 16 in a large part of western France, causing material damage in the epicenter area, bordering between Charente-Maritime and Deux-Sèvres. The earthquake reached magnitude 5.3 according to the National Seismic Monitoring Network (Renass) and 5.8 according to the French Central Seismological Bureau (BCSF), which issued a “very strong earthquake” advisory.
“This is one of the strongest earthquakes recorded on the metropolitan territory”, underlined the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christophe Béchu. The last such powerful ones date back to the early 2000s, according to a chronology established by Agence France-Presse.
The earthquake was detected at 6:38 p.m., in the town of Cram-Chaban (Charente-Maritime), near Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon (Deux-Sèvres), halfway between La Rochelle and Niort, according to the geographical coordinates of Renass and BCSF. Its tremors were felt in several cities in western France, and as far away as Paris.
Buildings affected and homes without electricity
In Deux-Sèvres, “a lightly injured person was taken care of by the emergency services” and “numerous material damages were reported in the south-west of the department”, declared the prefecture in a press release, specifying that “certain buildings may have been affected (falling rocks, cracks)”. France Bleu Poitou reported a rockfall in the city center of Niort.
In Charente-Maritime, the first “elements collected by the firefighters and the police do not report any casualties”, assured the prefecture. “On the other hand, numerous material damages such as cracks have been reported on buildings and 1,100 homes are currently without electricity, a high voltage line having been affected,” she added.
On social networks, the municipality of Niort asked residents not to “clog[r] the telephone lines of the emergency services”. “The department is classified as seismic level 3 [out of 5]”, it is further specified. The Charente-Maritime firefighters, “faced with a large number of calls”, also published a press release asking to “contact the emergency services only by emergency necessity”.
