A very shallow magnitude 3.6 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.According to France's Réseau National de Surveillance Sismique (RéNaSS), the quake struck on Thursday, September 17th, 2026, at 4:31 pm local time, at a very shallow depth of 5. km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones because they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which also listed it as a magnitude 3.6 earthquake.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibrations in the epicentral area. Weak shaking might have been felt in La Couarde-sur-Mer (pop. 1,300), located 4 km from the epicenter; Saint-Martin-de-Re (pop. 2,800), 5 km away; Le Bois-Plage-en-Re (pop. 2,400), 5 km away; La Flotte (pop. 2,900), 9 km away; and La Rochelle (pop. 76,800), 22 km away.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Les Sables-d'Olonne (pop. 16,100), located 41 km from the epicenter; Rochefort (pop. 29,400), 48 km away; and La Roche-sur-Yon (pop. 59,400), 49 km away.Earthquake data: Date & time: Sep 17, 2026 04:31 pm (GMT +2) local time (17 Sep 2026 14:31 GMT)Magnitude: 3.6Hypocenter depth: 5.00 kmEpicenter coordinates: 46.23°N / 1.43°W (Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France)Primary data source: RENASS