Following an earthquake on Friday evening in the western French town of La Laigne, approximately 170 people were relocated.
The quake, with a magnitude of 5.2 to 5.8, was felt from Rennes in the north-west to Bordeaux in the south-west.
Homes, schools, and churches were all devastated, and hundreds of structures were declared unusable.
Earthquakes of magnitude five are uncommon in France, with the most recent occurring in November 2019.
Following Friday’s tremor, two individuals were hurt in the town of Deux-Sevres.
The Charente-Maritime region, just north of Bordeaux, was especially hard hit.
In La Laigne, local fire chief Didier Marcaillou warned that the church had become “completely unusable,” while a top government regional official said that most of the houses in the town center had been damaged.
“As a precaution,” Nicolas Basselier remarked, “the school will have to be closed.”
One woman sobbed as she informed local station BFMTV that she couldn’t live in her house any longer. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Christine, the woman, stated. “In my son’s room, your entire hand can fit through the crack in the wall.”
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne called the earthquake “unusual” and expressed sympathy to anyone “who may have been concerned.”
“We will obviously ensure that everyone has access to rehousing,” Ms Borne said.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that the government would launch an accelerated natural disaster recognition mechanism to help analyze building structural damage rapidly.
