a magnitude 5 aftershock felt tonight

The earth shook again in Deux-Sèvres. “An aftershock of magnitude 5 was felt this morning around 4:30 a.m.” in the department, announced Saturday, June 17 the prefecture in a press release. She specifies that “the firefighters are mobilized and carry out reconnaissance actions, to respond to calls and check the condition of the buildings, in particular those weakened during the first earthquake on Friday”.

On Twitter, the city of Niort and the firefighters are asking residents to only dial 18/112 if you need help.

[TREMBLEMENT DE TERRE]
At 4:27 a.m., an aftershock was still felt in the area #LaRochelle #Niort. Please only dial 18/112 if you need help. #earthquake #earthquake pic.twitter.com/qxzETJeUYn

– City of Niort (@Mairie_Niort) June 17, 2023

Several Internet users also testify on the social network to have felt this aftershock in the night.

Aftershock tonight 4:30 on Orvault strong enough to wake me up #earthquake #Nantes

— MT (@freelancer4774) June 17, 2023

Aftershock around 4:28! Earthquake less strong than at 6:38 p.m., but which distinctly caused the wooden staircase of the house to creak. Lying in my bed I just heard it, not felt it. Impressive. #earthquake

— Brigitte Bailleul (@Brigitte_Ba) June 17, 2023

This aftershock comes the day after an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 to 5.8 which occurred at 6:38 p.m. between La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) and Niort (Deux-Sèvres), according to the National Monitoring Network seismological and the French Seismological Central Bureau. It was felt over a large part of western France, from Brittany to the Gironde.

According to the Deux-Sèvres prefecture, one person was slightly injured in this earthquake and taken care of by firefighters. The authorities specify that this powerful earthquake also caused “a lot of material damage such as falling rocks, cracks and a partial collapse of the roof”.