Earthquake recorded in south-east France this morning
Noise and vibration wakes Vaucluse residents after magnitude 3 quake hits near Avignon
The epicentre of the earthquake was recorded close to the former Papal city
DaLiu/Shutterstock
Residents of Vaucluse were woken up early this morning (May 13) as a magnitude 3 earthquake struck eight kilometres west of Avignon, rattling the department but causing no damage.
Firefighters received several callouts from worried residents after the minor quake struck at 05:30, however no injuries were reported.
The tremors were recorded in many communes of the department, including Avignon, Ved猫ne, Mori猫res-l猫s-Avignon, Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue, Caumont-sur-Durance, Sorgues and Ch芒teaurenard.
It follows a stronger earthquake recording 4.1 in magnitude in Nice earlier this year, which was the most powerful quake in the region for 20 years.
The south-east is one of the areas of France most affected by earthquakes.
鈥楢 frightening experience鈥�
鈥淲e heard a loud bang that lasted a second. Everything started to vibrate, the bed moved, we felt like we were on the move. It was a frightening experience,鈥� said one Vaucluse resident to FranceInfo.
鈥淚 was woken up by a deafening noise... the cats' water bowls were knocked over and they were scared,鈥� said another on the Ici Vaucluse .
Others on the page made jokes that the earthquake had caused the famous Avignon bridge (Pont St-B茅n茅zet) to collapse.
The ruined bridge is the subject of a popular 15th-Century song called 鈥楽ur le pont d鈥橝vignon鈥�.
However, the bridge naturally fell into disrepair in the 18th Century because it was too expensive to maintain.
