A magnitude 5.0 earthquake on the Richter scale, centered in Alhendín, a town in the metropolitan area of Granada, Spain, woke thousands of people in the early hours of Saturday and forced the Andalusian authorities to activate the seismic emergency plan, reported the National Geographic Institute.
The tremor occurred at 1:04 a.m. at a depth of two kilometers and was felt across almost all of Andalucía. The National Geographic Institute initially estimated a magnitude of 4.8 but later raised the record to five, reported RTVE.
The alerts to 112 came from all Andalusian provinces except Huelva and Cádiz. The reports included falling objects, movement of furniture, and trembling of doors and windows in numerous municipalities of Granada and its metropolitan area.
Videos shared on social media showed that the movement caused landslides, the falling of elements from facades and rooftops, and other material damage in municipalities such as Armilla and Churriana. In Huétor Vega, there was also a report of electricity supply interruptions.
The Board activated operational situation one of the Earthquake Risk Plan due to the magnitude of the earthquake. The advisor for the Presidency, Health, and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz, confirmed the measure following the number of alerts received.
The tremor was also felt in northern Granada, the coast and the Alpujarra, as well as in various locations in Jaén, Almería, Málaga, and Córdoba.
Six minutes after the main earthquake, a tremor of magnitude 2.6 was registered with its epicenter in Gójar and a depth of one kilometer. On Friday, three other smaller earthquakes had already occurred in the same area, the source specified.
In Las Gabias, members of Civil Protection and security forces evacuated a building that could have sustained damage as a precaution. Authorities stated that no injuries had been reported so far.
The Civil Protection teams focused their efforts in the metropolitan area of Granada, where collapses of cornices and visible cracks were also reported at various points in the Albaicín and the center of the Andalusian capital.
Granada is historically the Andalusian province with the highest seismic activity, linked to the active faults of the Betic Mountains. The most severe event in the region was the earthquake of 1884, with an estimated magnitude between 6.2 and 6.4, making it the most destructive in the recent history of Andalusia.
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