Another quake in southeast France

AN EARTHQUAKE with a magnitude of 3.5 was recorded this morning in the upper valley of the Ubaye between La Condamine, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and Crévoux, Hautes-Alpes.

It struck shortly after 5am today, near Gap, and was felt as far away as Cagnes-sur-Mer on the Riviera.

Scientists say that it is the latest in a so-called “storm” of tremors that began in February 2012 and were restarted by the quake of April 7 this year.

Experts at Surveillance sismique de l'Observatoire de Grenoble (Sismalp) say that there have been thousands of “microquakes” in the region in the past three months. While most have been too small for people to notice, four have measured more than 3.0 since the “big” April tremor.

Normally only one quake of this strength occurs in the region in a year, they said.

Image: Sismalp screengrab