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ARCHIVED - Intense 5.1-magnitute earthquake felt in Andalusia over the weekend
Residents of the Andalucía provinces of Málaga, Granada, Almería and Jaén all felt the seismic tremors on August 28
A 5.1-magnitute earthquake off the coast of Melilla was felt in several provinces of Andalucía on Saturday (August 28), including Granada, Málaga and Almería as well as in the enclave of Melilla.
The seismic tremors were registered at around 13.20h and lasted for several seconds, with residents in Melilla feeling the earthquake with the most intensity; so intense were the tremors that some residents even left their houses to stand outside on the street.
Those living in coastal areas of Granada, Málaga and Almería also felt the tremors, although with less intensity, and the earthquake was even perceptible to humans in some inland points of Málaga, Granada and Jaén.
There are thousands of small seismic movements in Spain every year, although in most cases these are only detected by the measuring stations of the IGN (National Geographic Institute).
Following the intense earthquake, two smaller ‘replica’ seismic tremors took place close to the epicentre, 3.2 and 3.6 magnitudes, respectively and since then there have been dozens of smaller tremors and replicas, the latest being:
- September 30 08.56 ; 2.3 mbLg .
- 08.30 2.2 mbLg
- 08.20 2.6 mbLg
- 08.05 2.2 mbLg
- 06.02 2.7 mbLg
In Melilla, the emergency services reported no calls for assistance, though several people did call to report the earthquake or to ask about the magnitude of the tremor.
This is one of the most important earthquakes in the Alboran Sea in recent months, following several months of frequent seismic tremors in this area, dubbed the South Alboran series of 2021.
Granada has also been at the centre of intense seismic activity during the last few months, the latest major tremor being on August 13 when a 4.2 magnitude movement was detected.
IGN (National Geographic Institute) has stated that the epicentres of these frequent earthquakes are located where the Eurasian and African tectonic plates rub together and that they cannot rule out more intense earthquakes in the near future.
IMAGE: IGN (National Geographic Institute)
