Two earthquakes hit near Lourdes
Tremors left homes in Haute-Pyrenees without power and were felt as far away as Toulouse
TWO EARTHQUAKES struck the Haute-Pyrenees department around Lourdes this morning, leaving a number of homes without power.
The epicentre of the first tremor, which had a magnitude of 4.7 and occurred shortly after 9am, hit 5km southeast of Lourdes, according to the French Central Seismoligical Bureau (BCSF).
The second, which struck four minutes later and had a magnitude of 3.4, had its epicentre 9km from Bagneres-de-Bigorre, and 12km from Lourdes.
The quakes left homes in the Gaves Valley - including Juncalas, Argeles-Gazost, Ayzac and Ost - without power for a short time. Although emergency services fielded many calls, no other damage has been reported.
The tremors, however, did set tongues wagging, as this video from France 3 Midi Pyrenees reveals.
The area, around the North Pyrenean fault, is something of an earthquake hotspot in France. The two quakes today were caused, the BCSF said, by the African tectonic plate compressing into the Eurasian tectonic plate.
The tremors were felt as far away as Toulouse to the northeast and the Pyrenees Atlantiques to the west.
Earlier this month, an earthquake shook south-east France.
Photo: France 3 / National Seismic Monitoring Network - screengrab
