Teil Earthquake. November 11, 2019. Le Teil. Rock fall and damage of house

Overview & Synopsis

This photo was taken during a Macroseismic Response Group mission that took place from November 18 to 22, 2019, following the November 11, 2019, magnitude 5.2 Mlv earthquake. We can see a rock fall and damage to a house in the commune of Le Teil, rue Jean Vernet. This is the most affected commune, with collapsed buildings. From the point of view of intensity, the earthquake in this town reached an intensity of VII (on a scale from I to XII). The very shallow depth of the focus of the earthquake (about 2 km), as well as the propagation of the rupture to the surface, imply a much greater intensity of shaking in the epicentral area (up to about 15 km from the epicenter) than for more conventional events of the same magnitude (depth around 10 km). The significant damage to the town of Le Teil is an illustration. This earthquake is the largest in mainland France in terms of impact (extent of intensity VI and above, and damage to the most vulnerable buildings) for 52 years (since the earthquake of Arette in 1967). The macro-seismic intervention group intervenes on the sites of earthquakes to evaluate the intensity of the tremor, from the effects of the earthquake on structures, buildings, individual houses. These field observations complement the testimonies provided by citizens on the france-seisme website. They are one of the elements that participate in the establishment of the state of natural disaster by the authorities. The macro-seismic survey also completes the other analyses carried out by scientists within the French seismological and geodesic network Résif, in particular within the framework of its Transverse Action Seismicity. Résif is a national research infrastructure dedicated to the observation and understanding of the Earth's internal structure and dynamics. Résif is based on high technology observation networks, composed of seismological, geodesic and gravimetric instruments deployed in a dense way on the whole French territory. The data collected allow to study with a high spatio-temporal resolution the ground deformation, the superficial and deep structures, the seismicity at the local and global scale and the natural hazards, and more particularly the seismic ones, on the French territory. Résif is part of the European (EPOS - European Plate Observing System) and global systems of instruments allowing to image the interior of the Earth in its entirety and to study many natural phenomena.