Earthquake hits southeast France, EDF checking two nuclear plants

• The quake was recorded around the Ardeche region, where three people were injured.
• There was light damage to around 50 buildings in the area.

(PARIS) A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit southeast France on Monday, injuring four people, while French utility EDF said it was carrying out regulatory checks at its Tricastin and Cruas nuclear power plants in the area to ensure there was no impact.

France's National Seismic Surveillance Network said the quake was recorded around the Ardeche region, where three people were injured, and some residents were offered temporary shelter in local gyms, authorities there said.

There was light damage to around 50 buildings in the area.

In the neighbouring Drome area, where the earthquake was also felt, one person was seriously injured as scaffolding collapsed during the tremor.

A spokesman for EDF said the company's checks were precautionary and the reactors were functioning normally. He added that an unplanned outage at Tricastin's number 4 reactor earlier on Monday was unrelated to the quake.