Initial damage reported but no serious injuries. After the earthquake with a magnitude of about 5 recorded in Cram Chaban, in Charente-Maritime, Friday June 16, around 6:40 p.m., part of the city center of Niort (Deux-Sèvres) is cordoned off due to a fall of pieces of stone, according to France Bleu Poitou. In Vienne, firefighters tell France Télévisions that they have received many phone calls for “building cracks”. Roofs collapsed in La Laigne, franceinfo learned from the mayor of this town in Charente-Maritime. Follow our live.
More than a thousand homes without electricity. According to the prefecture of Charente-Maritime, 1,100 homes are currently without electricity, a high voltage line having been affected. “The Enedis teams are working to restore the power supply as soon as possible”, specifies the prefecture. The latter announces that a more precise inventory of the consequences has been launched, in conjunction with local authorities, firefighters, the gendarmerie, the police and other state services.
“An area with sustained activity.” Sur franceinfo Yann Klinger, seismologist, CNRS researcher at the Institut de physique du globe de Paris explained: “It’s an area that doesn’t move very often, but has sustained activity.” “These are remnants of old faults that were active a very long time ago. They are mainly located south of the Armorican Massif. So we have this residual activity”he added.
An earthquake accompanied by a “rumbling” in La Rochelle. “We felt the ground shaking very well”, testifies on franceinfo the mayor of La Rochelle. Jean-François Fountaine continues: “I was on the old port and we felt a fairly significant ground vibration for at least thirty seconds. It was more impressive at height, for people who were in houses.” The earthquake was accompanied by a “rumble”.