A series of earth tremors struck south-east France early this morning (June 7), the largest of which had a magnitude of 3.2 - enough to be categorised as a ‘slight earthquake’. No injuries or damage have been reported.
The Alps have been shaken by several tremors since the start of June, the largest of which struck near Einsiedeln in Switzerland on June 4 with a magnitude of 4.1
That was followed this morning by a string of tremors that was strong enough to be felt near Annecy (Haute-Savoie).
The earthquake could be felt by people inside the green circleBureau Central Sismologique Français Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre
The Réseau national de surveillance sismique, or national seismic surveillance network, reports that it recorded tremors between 00:25 and 07:03, with the largest being at 06:36 near the village of Dingy-Saint-Clair 8km east of Annecy.
Most of these tremors were imperceptible to humans - and no damage or injuries have been reported - however, local newspaper Le Dauphiné reports that the quake did not go unnoticed.
Several inhabitants of the nearby village of Thônes say they heard “a rumble that lasted a split second”, and the local fire service received at least one call from a worried local.
A worker at the Dingy-Saint-Clair marie also reported hearing a boom “like something heavy fell over inside the house”.
Seismic events are measured using the moment magnitude scale (rather than the Richter scale), which categorises them in accordance with the distance a fault moved and the force required to move it.
This measurement gives seismic events a ranking that is deliberately similar to the old Richter scale to allow for easy comparisons.
The 3.2 magnitude earthquake near Annecy qualifies as a ‘slight’ earthquake, which is anything over magnitude 3. There are around 100,000 such events each year globally.
The 4.1 magnitude earthquake in Switzerland on June 4 ranks as a ‘light’ earthquake, of which there are around 10,000 each year globally.
