A 4.1-magnitude earthquake shook southern Spain on Sunday, with tourists in Alicante feeling the tremor. The quake, recorded at 11:59am by Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN), had its epicentre near the town of Librilla in the Murcia region.
The tremor lasted several seconds and was also felt in neighbouring Alicante and Albacete. Alicante is a popular destination for holidaymakers, while nearby Benidorm attracts millions of visitors annually.
Emergency Response
The quake was centred at a depth of about three miles, with the city of Murcia located roughly 18 miles from the epicentre. Emergency services in the Murcia region reported being flooded with calls following the earthquake.
In a post on X, the Region of Murcia's 112 Emergency Coordination Centre said: "The 112 Emergency Coordination Centre for the Region of Murcia has received more than 80 calls at various points in the region. So far, no personal or material damage has been reported."
Seismic Activity
According to the IGN, the latest quake follows a recent increase in seismic activity in the area. The institute said there had been seven tremors in the days leading up to Sunday's earthquake, bringing the total over the past month to 21.
The 4.1-magnitude quake was the strongest recorded in the region during the past six months, surpassing a 2.3-magnitude earthquake on June 3. It comes just days after a 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck Naples, Italy, on Friday, damaging buildings and vehicles and injuring around 20 people.
Historical Context
Spain has experienced far more destructive earthquakes. In 2011, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck the southern town of Lorca, killing 10 people in the country's deadliest earthquake in decades. The town, southwest of Alicante, suffered extensive damage, with several buildings collapsing, hundreds of residents forced from their homes, and a hospital evacuated.
Southern Spain is one of the country's most earthquake-prone regions because Andalusia and Murcia sit on the northern edge of the collision zone between the Eurasian and Nubian (African) tectonic plates. The Nubian plate moves northwards towards Eurasia at a rate of around 4mm to 5mm per year. This movement, which helped form the Atlas Mountains and the Alps, still causes seismic activity in southern Spain, concentrated along the Betic Cordillera mountain range that stretches from the Gibraltar Arc through Malaga, Granada, Almeria and Murcia to the Mediterranean coast.
