Magnitude 3.3 earthquake hits Finistère – residents report loud boom
A second earthquake in a nearby commune followed a few hours later
Tremors were reportedly felt over 40 km from the epicentre near Quimper (Finistère)
Le Bureau Central Sismologique Français
An earthquake measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale was recorded yesterday (July 29) in Finistère (Brittany), creating a loud boom.
It occurred at 12:53 to the south of Quimper, near the communes of Plomelin and Gouesnac'h in the north-west of France, as confirmed by BCSF-Rénass (the French Central Seismological Bureau).
Reports suggest the earthquake was felt over 40 km away from the epicentre, in a total of 37 communes extending as far as Morbihan.
Read also: Map: Which areas of France are most at risk of earthquakes?
A social media user in Tregunc, said the shake was “like an explosion heard coming from under the house.”
Another in Saint-Jean-Trolimon compared the sound to the “bang of an airplane,” while a resident of Plomeur heard a “deep rumbling and creaking in the house.”
No casualties or serious structural damages have been reported.
A second, smaller shake
Some 13 hours after the first quake, a second dose of tectonic activity was recorded in Moëlan-sur-Mer, between Lorient and Concarneau, at 02:00 this morning (July 30).
The tremor had a magnitude of 2.2 meaning it is unlikely that residents in the surrounding areas would have been awoken from their sleep, however one social media user in Bannalec reported feeling the shake and hearing an “impressive boom.”
Earthquakes explained by the Armorican Massif
Earthquakes in Brittany are not uncommon and can be explained by the presence of the Armorican Massif. This geologic mountain range covers a large area of north-west France, and was formed by the collision of two supercontinents between 359 and 299 million years ago.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 was recorded in Lanester (Morbihan) in 2002 - the largest in Brittany since the BCSF-Rénass database began in 1980.
More recently, in October 2024, Brittany was hit by a flurry of tectonic activity with five earth tremors recorded in seven days.
Up to 4,000 earthquakes and tremors are recorded per year in mainland France, according to France’s geographical research body Résif-Epos, but the majority of these are too small to be felt by humans.
Events recorded in France this year include a magnitude 3 earthquake striking eight kilometres west of Avignon on May 13, and a 4.1 earthquake in Nice on March 18.
