Two earthquakes were felt along the French Riviera on Tuesday evening, 18 March 2025. The first was at 6.46pm and the second at 10.24pm, according to Nice Meteo.
Residents from Cannes, Nice, Cagnes Sur Mer, Eze, Roquefort les Pins, Valbonne and Antibes all the way to Menton took to social media to report they had “felt the earth move”.
One Antibes visitor told Riviera Edition: “I was lying in bed after a hard day at work, and thought I was losing my mind. The building shook. Even my bed shook!” Another said he “usually misses things like this” but was sitting at his computer and really felt it.
In nearby La Place hotel, the line of glasses hanging from above the bar were swaying back and forth. “It lasted about 10 to 15 seconds,” the receptionist, who caught it on video, told Riviera Edition.
Nice Meteo confirms ‘strong earthquake’ for French Riviera
Nice Meteo (weather bureau) confirmed that at 6.46 pm there was a “🚨Strong earthquake🚨Fortunately very brief, but felt very well by the population.”
The Meteo said it was a “Magnitude 4.1 with its epicenter around Cantaron“.
They also asked residents to please “not saturate the emergency lines 18/112 unnecessarily⚠️”
Second earthquake on Côte d’Azur, Tuesday 18 March 2025
A second earthquake on the Côte d’Azur was felt across the region at around 10.24pm. Nice Meteo confirmed it was slightly weaker, measuring 3.7 magnitude on the Richter scale; and said its epicenter was Mount Macaron.
Again residents took to social media. Some said it had unnerved their cats, many reported their dogs barking, while one pet-owner told Riviera Edition that her dog had just laid down with its paws outstretched as still and flat to the earth as possible.
Some witnesses reported a sound along with the second one. A resident in Beaulieu said he “heard a loud noise at 22:24, like a deflagration, it was worrying… 😳🥶”
UPDATE 11PM. After the second earth tremor, the Préfet des Alpes-Maritimes (Alpes-Maritimes Prefecture) issued the following statement:
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“An earthquake was felt a few minutes ago in different places in the department. This phenomenon of smaller-magnitude replicas, in the hours and days after the 1st event, is common, according to seismic experts.
“Aware that this may cause concern, it is advisable not to confuse emergency call services. State services remain mobilized and thank the Maralpins for their sense of responsibility.”
The first report of “shaking in the Nice area” on France’s Côte d’Azur had come from Android Earthquake Alerts System, which uses device and sensor data from Android phones that have Google Location Accuracy turned on. Data is sent to the system in areas where shaking from a nearby earthquake is detected.
According to Ready.gov (USA), the following are steps to take after an earthquake:
