An earthquake of magnitude 5 shook Charente-Maritime – Le Figaro

No major damage is reported at this stage in the affected area shortly before 9:00 by the earthquake, whose epicenter is located between La Rochelle and Rochefort.

An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale struck Thursday morning at 8:46 Charente-Maritime, according to the National seismic monitoring Network (ReNaSS), confirming the many testimonials people who felt the tremor.

no major damage is reported at this stage in the area affected by the earthquake, whose epicenter is located between La Rochelle and Rochefort. According to testimony, shaking occasionally dropped objects on shelves or pieces of plaster ceilings. According to Sud Ouest, the earthquake occurred at 21 km depth and several industrial sites such as Alstom were evacuated.

“At this time, this event has not resulted in emergency requests to firefighters, “said the prefecture. “A more accurate census of the consequences was launched by the prefecture services in connection with the fire brigade, the police and other state services,” she says.

According to various testimonies collected on Twitter, the shock of the earthquake was felt to a lesser extent within about 200 km from La Rochelle. “I felt it was vibrating, and then as a deflagration or an explosion,” said an AFP correspondent residing 12 km from the epicenter.

The Charente-Maritime is known for its seismic activity, usually more on the side of the island of Oleron, explained Sophie Lambotte, seismologist at ReNaSS, located in Strasbourg. “Magnitude 5, it is already a major earthquake, we do not have so frequently as that, it takes a bit unconventional,” she said.

According to the seismologist an earthquake with a magnitude greater than 5 was recorded on the side of the island of Oleron in 1972, and another around 4.5 in 2005. a significant seismic activity is also known to the north, the next to Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée region. “We are at the limit of inherited faults Armorican Massif, the shearing faults that slide from one side to the other. There are other flaws in the side of Oléron are the same direction, “says Sophie Lambotte.