List of earthquakes in France explained

This is a list of earthquakes in France and its overseas territories which directly impacted the country. Earthquakes are rare in mainland France but do occur. Within mainland France, the east of the country Alsace, Jura, Alps, the South-East Alpes-Maritimes, Provence and the Pyrenees are the most concerned, but the most seismically active French regions are parts of Overseas France (such as New Caledonia, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Wallis and Futuna and Réunion). Buildings there are often vulnerable, and much of the population lives at low elevations close to the coast and is exposed to tsunamis.

Earthquakes

Ref
2023-06-16Western France4.8 Mw 5.3–5.8 Ml1Some buildings damaged[1]
2022-03-31New Caledonia7.0 IVSmall tsunami[2]
2022-03-12Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes4.5 MwVISome buildings damaged[3]
2021-06-12Mauritius-Réunion region6.7 IIINo damage, but significantly large.[4]
2021-02-10New Caledonia7.7 IVTsunami[5]
2019-11-11Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes4.8 MwVI4Some houses damaged[6] [7]
2018-12-05New Caledonia7.5 VIModerate damage/tsunami[8]
2018-08-29New Caledonia7.1 VSmall tsunami[9] [10]
2018-06-01Mayotte4.7 V6Part of an earthquake swarm[11] [12]
2018-05-15Mayotte5.9 V3Part of an earthquake swarm/Largest ever recorded in the area[13] [14]
2017-11-19New Caledonia7.0 VISmall tsunami[15]
2017-02-03Martinique5.8 MwV1Some damage[16] [17]
2016-04-28Nouvelle-Aquitaine3.9 MwIVMinor damage[18]
2007-11-29Martinique7.4 MwVII6402Intermediate depth
2006-11-17Midi-Pyrénées4.7 MwVMinor damage[19]
2004-11-21Guadeloupe6.3 MwVIII113
1996-07-15Haute-Savoie5.3 Mw1Chimney damage [20]
1993-03-12Wallis and Futuna6.4 MwVII520Severe damage in Futuna[21]
1991-02-13Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur3.8 MwIV9Deaths from avalanche[22]
1982-01-06Nouvelle-Aquitaine4.4 MwIVMinor damage[23]
1967-08-13Pyrénées-Atlantiques5.7 MwVI180Severe damage[24]
1946-06-25Valais6.1 MwVIII13 deaths in Switzerland/Severe damage[25] [26]
1909-06-11Provence6.0 MwX46250Severe damage
1887-02-23Liguria6.8–6.9 MwIX600–3,000Destructive tsunami
1843-02-08Guadeloupe8.5 MwIX1,500–5,000
1839-01-11Martinique7.5–8.0 MwIX390–4,00028,975Extreme damage
1799-01-25Vendée6.4–6.5VIII
1682-05-12SavoieVIII
1678-09-02Bouches-du-Rhône6.0 MwSevere[27]
1660-06-21Hautes-Pyrénées6.2 MLVIII–IX30[28]
1580-04-06Dover Straits5.3–5.9 MLMany
1428-02-02Catalonia6.7Hundreds
1248-11-25Savoie, Mont Granier9,000Deaths caused by landslide.[29]
1227 FebruaryProvenceX5,000[30]
Note: The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described also apply to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

Notes and References

  1. News: Rare 5.8 magnitude earthquake hits large parts of western France . 17 June 2023 . France 24 (English) . 17 June 2023.
  2. Web site: M 7.0 - 279 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia. earthquake.usgs.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20220331082208/https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/at00r9lh9g/executive. 2022-03-31. live .
  3. Web site: M 4.5 - 3 km S of Faverges, France. United States Geological Survey.
  4. Web site: M 6.7 - Mauritius - Reunion Region. United States Geological Survey. May 12, 2021. May 12, 2021.
  5. Web site: United States Geological Survey. 6 August 2021. 10 February 2021. M 7.7 - southeast of the Loyalty Islands.
  6. Web site: M 4.8 - 5 km WNW of Rochemaure, France. United States Geological Survey.
  7. Web site: Weird earthquake just put a crack in France. Wei-Haas. Maya. https://web.archive.org/web/20210531150135/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/weird-earthquake-crack-france-geologists-buzzing. dead. May 31, 2021. National Geographic. 15 November 2019 .
  8. Web site: M 7.5 - 166km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia. earthquake.usgs.gov. 2018-12-05.
  9. Web site: M 7.1 - 238km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia. earthquake.usgs.gov. 2018-08-29.
  10. News: Small tsunami waves after New Caledonia quake . 2018-08-29. Business Recorder. 2018-08-29.
  11. Web site: M 4.7 - 40km ESE of Pamandzi, Mayotte. earthquake.usgs.gov. 2018-06-02.
  12. News: Mayotte: 36 séismes en une journée, 6 blessés légers. Linfo.re. 2018-06-02.
  13. Web site: M 5.9 - 32km E of Pamandzi, Mayotte. earthquake.usgs.gov. 2018-05-15.
  14. News: Séisme record : trois blessés - Le journal de Mayotte. 2018-05-15. Le journal de Mayotte. 2018-05-15. fr-FR. 2018-05-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20180516103749/https://lejournaldemayotte.yt/seisme-record-trois-blesses/. dead.
  15. Web site: M 7.0 - 85km ENE of Tadine, New Caledonia. United States Geological Survey. November 19, 2017. November 19, 2017.
  16. Web site: M 5.8 - 59km ENE of Sainte-Marie, Martinique. United States Geological Survey. March 12, 2017. February 3, 2017.
  17. News: Important séisme vendredi après-midi en Martinique. Important earthquake Friday afternoon in Martinique. Francetvinfo. February 3, 2017. February 4, 2017. fr.
  18. Web site: M 3.9 - 6 km WSW of Châtelaillon-Plage, France. United States Geological Survey.
  19. Web site: M 4.7 - 3 km NNE of Pierrefitte-Nestalas, France. United States Geological Survey.
  20. Web site: Annecy tremble: la faute à la faille. Le séisme n'a fait qu'un blessé léger mais de nombreux dégâts.
  21. Web site: M 6.4 - Fiji region. earthquake.usgs.gov.
  22. Web site: M 3.8 - 6 km S of Claviere, Italy. United States Geological Survey.
  23. Web site: M 4.4 - 6 km S of Saint-Palais, France. United States Geological Survey.
  24. Web site: M 5.7 - 1 km W of Arette, France. United States Geological Survey.
  25. Web site: Sierre 1946 . seismo.ethz.ch . . 2 September 2021.
  26. Web site: M 6.2 - 2 km WNW of Kandersteg, Switzerland. United States Geological Survey.
  27. Web site: Sismotectonique de la faille de la Moyenne Durance.
  28. Web site: Le Reseau de Surveillance Sismique des Pyrénées . 2022-04-29 . rssp.irap.omp.eu.
  29. P. Alexandre, Les séismes en Europe occidentale de 394 à 1259. Nouveau catalogue critique., Publ. Observatoire royal de Belgique, Bruxelles, 1990.
    J. Berlioz, « L'effondrement du Mont-Granier en Savoie (fin 1248) », dans Le Monde alpin et rhodanien, 1987, .
  30. Web site: Tremblements de terre en Provence.

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