Thousands of residents and tourists felt a 4.1 magnitude earthquake across Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with people reporting rooms shaking and furniture moving, but no damage reported
(Image: Dennis Fischer Photography via Getty Images)
Residents and tourists on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria have been urged to remain calm after thousands of people across both islands experienced a 4.1 magnitude earthquake.
Scientists have confirmed it is NOT linked to the seismic activity that has been recorded beneath Mount Teide over the past fortnight, and stress that a volcanic eruption is NOT imminent.
Authorities acknowledge that many people were alarmed by the tremor and questioned whether it was connected to the unusual seismic movements beneath Teide, but officials have moved swiftly to reassure the public that there is no such connection.
“In 1989, in this same area, an earthquake of 5.3 was recorded that was felt throughout the island of Tenerife,” said IGN volcanologist Rubén López, who dissociated this earthquake from the recent rebound in seismicity in the Cañadas del Teide area.
The earthquake struck at 12.26pm today at a depth of ten kilometres, with residents reporting rooms shaking and furniture rattling in the aftermath. The quake’s epicentre was not beneath Mount Teide but rather at the Enmedio volcano, situated between Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
The National Geographic Institute confirmed the earthquake was 4.1 in the area of the Enmedio Volcano in the channel that separates the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Where the earthquake hit
The tremor was widely felt across various parts of both islands, and given its magnitude and the depth of its hypocentre, it prompted a considerable number of reports from residents who clearly felt the movement. In municipalities such as Arico in Tenerife, witnesses Witnesses reported a vibration lasting roughly five seconds, with some saying “the whole room was shaking” as the tremor struck.
“It lasted about ten seconds and was more noticeable than ever, moving the whole house,” one Agaete resident in Gran Canaria recalled. “It went from less to more. At first it seemed like the closing of a door, but then the whole house moved.”
The National Geographic Institute (IGN) has documented the towns where the earthquake registered with different levels of intensity. The tremor didn’t just affect Tenerife but also extended to multiple locations across Gran Canaria, being detected in over 100 population centres spanning the two principal islands.
Among these locations are several popular tourist destinations including Los Cristianos in Tenerife and Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. Authorities have confirmed no significant material damage or injuries have been recorded.
The Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (INVOLCAN) has emphasised that “this earthquake has no relation whatsoever” to the volcanic seismicity recorded in Tenerife in recent weeks.
The area of Enmedio Volcan The region ranks amongst the most seismically active zones in the Canaries, sitting atop an underwater fault line that runs between the two capital islands.
Whilst tremors are a regular occurrence in this location, earthquakes surpassing magnitude 4 typically spark heightened alarm amongst locals, as they’re distinctly felt within households.
Experts are reconvening tomorrow to further analyse the thousands of tremors detected beneath Mount Teide in Tenerife.
They emphasise an eruption is not on the cards in the near or medium-term future, as the warning signs would be markedly different. Nevertheless, they’re urging all Tenerife councils to refresh their emergency protocols, pointing to places like Iceland where locals are well-versed in eruption response procedures.
Tenerife’s administration maintains the island boasts the most sophisticated and comprehensive monitoring infrastructure available, and stresses there’s absolutely no reason for public anxiety.