France: France is counting the cost after a rare earthquake hits the West

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On Saturday, residents of a region in western France counted the cost after they were shocked by a rare earthquake that destroyed dozens of homes.

Cracks appeared in many homes in the Charente-Maritime department, north of the main city of Bordeaux, while churches were damaged and residents were left in dire need of resettlement.

There were no casualties, although the quake was felt as far as Rennes in Brittany in the north and two aftershocks were recorded on Saturday morning. In the town of La Laigne, many houses were left cracked with stones and tiles on the floor and chimneys looking as if they could collapse at any moment.

The fire service declared dozens of homes uninhabitable.

In Ligny, “135 buildings were damaged by the earthquake overall” and “170 people need to be transported,” local fire service chief Didier Marcaillou said. Prefect Nicolas Basilaire added, the government-appointed senior regional official in Charente-Maritime. The emergency services said the quake was also felt in other areas, including the nearby Deux-Sevres area, where two people suffered minor injuries.

“It is an unusual earthquake on our lands, so I would like to express my solidarity with residents who may have been worried,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on a visit to northern France.

“Obviously we are going to make sure everyone gets rehousing,” she added.

The RENASS National Seismological Network recorded the quake at 5.3, while the French Central Bureau of Seismology (BCSF) put it at 5.8.

Seismologists said the quake was the most significant in the region since 1972.

Earthquakes of magnitude five or greater are rare in France, with the last such event occurring in November 2019 in the remote southern provinces of Drome and Ardeche.

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