THE French Alps have been rocked by 140 mini-quakes in just 40 days - sparking fears a huge earthquake could strike at any time.

There are also fears the tremors could lead to a deadly avalanche hitting dozens of popular ski resorts in the Alps mountain.

2 The French Alps have been rocked with 140 earthquakes in 40 days

According to Sismalp - an earthquake observation organisation - 140 minor tremors in the Maurienne part of Savoie region were recorded in the last 40 days.

The strongest tremor registered was 3.8 on the Richter scale.

Residents in the region have described how they had been getting used to being shaken awake at night in recent weeks.

One local named Martine, who lives in the village of Montgellafray, told Europe1 radio: "The noise is like a storm coming from far way. Everything shakes. I said 'that's it, all the tiles are going to break.

"The last earthquake was really frightening. Since the end of August it has never stopped. Every two days there is one and they are getting more common."

2 Residents living in the Maurienne part of Savoie in the French Alp have been complaining of being shaken awake at night Credit: Hemis.fr

Another resident, Yves, said: "Everyone is asking questions. Everyone in the village is talking about it."

After a series of quakes along the French Riviera in 2014, a French specialist seismologist warned that south east of France would be hit by a "deadly" earthquake.

Remy Bossu from the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) in Paris told The Local: "We don't know when a big one will come, but it will and there will be fatalities."

The last time France was hit by a deadly quake was back in 1909 in the town of Lambesc in Provence - which left 46 people dead and 250 injured.

It measures six on the Richter scale and is the still the largest quake ever recorded in mainland France.

The series of earthquakes come just a month after Mexico was hit by a massive 8.1 magnitude quake off the southern Pacific coast killing at least 42.