Fresh details emerge about cost and impact of French earthquake
More than 5,000 buildings were damaged in the quake in June and the cost of repairs could be as high as 鈧�350million, it has emerged
The cost of building repairs as a result of the June earthquake could be as much as 鈧�350million, the public insurer has said
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The cost of the earthquake that hit France last month could be as much as 鈧�350million, new figures show.
The estimate and came from the public insurance company la Caisse centrale de r茅assurance (CCR).
It also said that it would take care of 鈥渁t least half鈥� of the cost.
The earthquake hit western France on June 16 at 18:38. Its epicentre was in the commune of Cram-Chaban, between La Rochelle and Niort.
National earthquake monitoring networks le R茅seau national de surveillance sismique (Renass) and the Bureau central sismologique fran莽ais (BCSF) estimated its magnitude at 5.3-5.8 on the Richter scale.
There were around 30 aftershocks in the three days that followed. The quake was the most severe in the region in the past 50 years, since a quake of similar magnitude in Ol茅ron in 1972.
The CCR said that the quake was the most severe across the whole of France since that of Teil in 2019.
Read more: Thousands evacuated and homes damaged in French quake
Structural damage
Estimates suggest that more than 5,000 buildings were affected, of which several hundred sustained severe damage.
In a statement, the CCR said: 鈥淚n the affected communes, several buildings were damaged from a structural point of view, with chimneys and even some walls collapsing.鈥�
The communes affected include four in Charente-Maritime (La Laigne, Cram-Chabran, Cour莽on-d鈥橝unis, and Benon), and three in Deux-S猫vres (Mauz茅-sur-le-Mignon, Saint-Hilaire-La-Palud, and Niort).
The CCR said the cost of the damage would be 鈥済radually re-evaluated according to the post-earthquake work, which is taking place鈥�.
The new estimate comes after expert insurance cabinet Saretec initially put the cost at between 鈧�150million-200million.
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