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'Moderate' earthquake felt in southern France

The Local France
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'Moderate' earthquake felt in southern France
The French town of Bagneres-de-Luchon, known for its thermal baths (Photo by GEORGES GOBET / AFP)

People in south west France felt the earth shake on Monday night after a 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit across the border in Spain.

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On Monday evening at 7.42pm, a 'moderate' earthquake of 4.6 on the Richter scale was recorded in Pyrenees mountains in the south of France.

The epicentre was actually located in Vielha, Spain - which is located in the Pyrenees mountains just 20km from the French town of Bagnères-de-Luchon.

According to France 3 régions, the earthquake was felt "lightly to moderately" in France, in the Haute-Garonne département, which forms part of the border with Spain. No damage or injuries had been recorded as of Tuesday morning.

A previous, smaller earthquake of 3.6 magnitude had been recorded on Monday morning. The tremors were felt for about 20 seconds near the French town of Lourdes in the Hautes-Pyrénées département. 

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It is not unheard of for the Pyrenees mountainous region to experience earthquakes. The strongest ever recorded was a 6.1 magnitude earthquake (on the Richter scale) in 1660 which caused significant damage and led to 30 deaths.

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