This Saturday, September 14, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake in the Mediterranean was felt from Nice to Marseille. The news, which took everyone by surprise, raises questions. Could the city of Marseille experience another such seismic event? According to one geologist, Marseille could indeed experience another earthquake. We tell you all about it.
Marseilles has already experienced seismic activity
Due to its geographical location, Provence – of which Marseille is a part – has “often” experienced earthquakes. At the level of the Mediterranean Sea, the African tectonic plate plunges beneath the Eurasian plate. In the Bouches-du-Rhône region, the Trevaresse fault triggered a magnitude 6 earthquake that killed 46 people and destroyed 1,500 homes in Lambesc, making it the largest earthquake in France in the last century.
And that’s not all. In 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 hit Corsica and the 6th, 8th and 9th arrondissements of Marseille, those close to the coast. Fortunately, there were no casualties. However, some tremors were felt. Although the phenomenon remains rare, Nice, Monaco and Provence in general are recognized as seismic zones.
Could Marseille be hit by another earthquake?
You may not know it, but there’s a volcano just 1 hour from Marseille. And volcanic activity usually means seismic activity. In fact, the Volcano Discovery website lists seismic activity in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in particular.
Interviewed by the newspaper La Provence, geologist Olivier Bellier asserts that “this type of earthquake, measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, occurs one to three times every 10 years or so” in south-eastern France. It would therefore appear that this seismic episode will not be the last.