Spain hit by 6.3 magnitude earthquake

Sunday, April 11, 2010 

Instrumental intensity of the earthquake.
Image: USGS.

The USGS has reported a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Spain. It had a depth of 616.7 kilometers. The epicenter was located 25 kilometers northeast from Granada, 106 kilometers northwest of Málaga and 341 kilometers south of Madrid. It occurred on Monday at 00:08:10 local time (22:08:10 UTC).

People posted via Twitter that the earthquake was felt in Cádiz, Málaga, and Murcia.

CNN reports there are no immediate reports of deaths, injuries or damages. "An earthquake with that depth means little damage is likely," seismologist Susan Potter told CNN. "When an earthquake is deeper, the seismic energy is absorbed by the Earth, so there will be less damage expected in the epicenter area," she said too.

Meanwhile, almost a month ago, on March 1, the Spanish Geologist Luis Eugénio Suarez, said that the Granada area could suffer an earthquake within the short term, and with an intensity similar to that of the February 27 Cauquenes, Chile earthquake. Suárez commented that "Spain is not like Chile," because the latter is located on a high seismic frequency area, but also noted that "once every hundred years, a destructive earthquake is produced in the peninsula."

The last earthquake in Spain was in Arenas del Rey, in Granada, 126 years ago, and reached a magnitude of 6.6, leaving between 750 and 900 dead, thousands injured and material destruction.

Sources

• "Earthquake hits southern Spain; damage said unlikely" — CNN, April 12, 2010
• "Magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits Southern Spain" — Herald Sun, April 12, 2010
• "Sismo de 6.2 grados se produjo en Granada, España" — Radio Bío Bío, April 11, 2010 (Spanish)
• "Mw 6.2 Spain" — European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, April 12, 2010
• "Confirmado: Terremoto 6.2 en España" — Noticiero Digital, April 11, 2010 (Spanish)
• "USGS: 6.2 earthquake in Spain" — CNN, April 11, 2010
• "6.3 Spain" — USGS, April 11, 2010
• "Granada podría sufrir un terremoto como el de Chile en poco tiempo" — El Ideal (Spain), March 1, 2010 (Spanish)