Thursday, April 28, 2016

An earthquake in the Atlantic coast? Not so rare – Liberation

8:46: The earth quakes in Charente-Maritime. Thursday morning, residents have suffered an earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale. According to Sophie Lambotte seismologist who works at the National Network of Seismic Monitoring (RéNaSS), the phenomenon is not new.



Is the Charente-Maritime usually exposed to earthquakes

in terms of earthquakes in the region, the seismicity is usually concentrated around the island of Oléron. An earthquake measuring 5.7 has already been felt in 1972. More recently a magnitude 4 earthquake was observed in Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée), and in Niort (Deux-Sèvres) in 2010. This is movements involving the Eurasian plate.

At the national level, the most affected are usually the Alps, the Pyrenees and the South East. The largest earthquake since the measurement tools of use occurred in Lambesc (Bouches-du-Rhône) in 1909. It was an earthquake of magnitude 6. But historically, France experienced other major earthquakes especially in the Pyrenees in 1660, and in the Basel region (on the Franco-Swiss border) in 1356.

what actually looks like an earthquake 5

in the area closest to the epicenter between La Rochelle and Rochefort, you can hear a noise resembling an explosion. Away, this is more like a growl. Vibration can also be observed for a short time. According to some reports, the quake was felt as far as Bordeaux and Rennes. Concerning the damage, the most vulnerable buildings can be affected in a radius of 10 km around the epicenter. However we have no information on possible human victims. We are still waiting for information to complete our research (1).



How do you make these measures?

The seismometers are installed throughout France, especially in the most active regions. This is instruments that measure continuous ground movement. When it detects an earthquake, we will measure the maximum amplitude of these movements and their distance from the station relative to the epicenter. There is no maximum value. The biggest recorded earthquake of more than 9 on the Richter scale. It was in Chile in 1960.

(1) The network collects testimonies Franceséisme.fr

Cyril Castelliti

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