4.5-magnitude earthquake shakes Cannes and Nice
Residents in coastal areas report feeling the tremor on Saturday evening
At its epicentre (indicated by the red star) , the earthquake was strong enough to cause damage to buildings
Le Bureau Central Sismologique Français
A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of south-east France on Saturday evening and was felt by residents in Nice and Cannes and other Riviera coastal areas.
No material damage or injuries have been reported.
The earthquake hit at 20:47 on September 14, with its epicentre at a depth of 5km, 90km south-east of Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, states the French seismological office, Le Bureau Central Sismologique Français.
While not powerful enough to cause material damage from 90km away, had the epicentre been on land, it could have damaged buildings.
Nonetheless, many people living along the coast noticed the quake immediately.
"There was a rumble. My mirror almost fell and my bookshelf visibly shook," one inhabitant of Brignoles told Var Matin.
Others took to social media to share their experiences.
“Earthquake in Nice, for a few seconds, shook my couch,” astrophysicist Eric Lagadec from the Côte d'Azur observatory wrote on X.
How common are earthquakes in France?
Thousands of earthquakes occur each year but the majority are too small to be felt. While a 4.5-magnitude earthquake is a relatively rare occurrence in France, a similar event happened in Nice in May 2023.
“We record around 10 to 15 seismic events every day,” seismologist Christophe Larroque from the Laboratoire Géoazur told Nice Matin. “But most are not perceptible”
“For people to feel them, earthquakes usually have to have a magnitude over 3 or 3.5”
Seismologist Samuel Auclair told BFMTV Côte d'Azur that a magnitude 4 earthquake was noteworthy in France.
"In this instance the rupture happened at sea, so nobody was nearby, making the tremors all the more surprising when they hit the land."
Higher magnitudes are even rarer, but not unheard of in France, with 5.4 magnitude earthquakes striking Teil, Ardèche in 2019 and Saint-Dié, Vosges in 2003.
The last earthquake to take a life in France happened in 1967 when a 5.5 magnitude quake hit Arette, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, killing one person.
