{"id":72753,"date":"2026-08-19T17:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/72753\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T17:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:51:26","slug":"spain-earthquakes-mapped-more-than-600-evacuated-after-tourist-hotspot-rocked-by-quake-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/72753\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain earthquakes mapped: More than 600 evacuated after tourist hotspot rocked by quake"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iOIawn\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>At least 600 people have been<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/evacuation\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> evacuated<\/a> from their homes after<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/bulletin\/news\/earthquake-granada-spain-province-alhambra-b3034900.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> a series of relentless earthquakes hit Granada<\/a> on Tuesday, triggering safety cordons and forcing residents into temporary public shelters.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities ordered the urgent evacuation of six apartment blocks \u2014 holding 371 homes \u2014 in Las Gabias, southwestern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/granada\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Granada<\/a>, after deep structural cracks appeared in building walls following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/europe\/granada-earthquake-spain-alhambra-today-b3034882.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">dozens of tremors<\/a> throughout the day.<\/p>\n<p>Andalucian emergency services minister Antonio Sanz confirmed that the mass movement of residents was ordered as a precautionary measure, noting that none of the residential structures appeared to be in immediate danger of collapse.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters, Mr Sanz said: \u201cThe situation will now be evaluated, but there is no imminent danger. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-18T120333Z_1123248543_RC2Z0NAN1P45_RTRMADP_3_SPAIN-QUAKE.JPG\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Multiple earthquakes shook Granada on Tuesday\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>Multiple earthquakes shook Granada on Tuesday (Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are going to analyse whether there is structural damage and, in the meantime, they have been evacuated as a precaution,\u201d the minister added.<\/p>\n<p>The surge in evacuations was sparked by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/colombia-earthquake-venezuela-strike-slip-quakes-b3031906.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">4.8-magnitude earthquake<\/a> centred in Alhend\u00edn, which struck at 10:37am on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n<p>The initial jolt was swiftly followed by a wave of secondary shocks, including at least four measuring above magnitude four. <\/p>\n<p>Terrified residents spilled into the streets as fallen masonry and building debris crushed parked cars and felled trees across the city. Emergency services have cordoned off at least nine streets over ongoing safety hazards.<\/p>\n<p>Overnight, the ground failed to settle. Further tremors continued into the early hours of Wednesday, with 2.3 and 2.5-magnitude jolts recorded at 4:29am and 5:43am respectively.<\/p>\n<p>According to Spain\u2019s National Geographic Institute (IGN), a staggering 493 earthquakes have been logged in the region since Saturday.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-18T111611Z_1555669830_RC2X0NAWIKTQ_RTRMADP_3_SPAIN-QUAKE.JPG\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A damaged wall cordoned off in the aftermath of an earthquake\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE inline-gallery-btn\"\/>A damaged wall cordoned off in the aftermath of an earthquake (Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>Geologists have described this phenomenon as a \u201cseismic swarm\u201d \u2014 a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/europe\/what-caused-the-earthquake-in-turkey-b2277919.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rapid sequence of multiple earthquakes<\/a> occurring within a localised geographical area over a compressed timeframe. Granada sits in one of mainland Spain\u2019s most seismically active zones, intersected by a complex network of fault lines.<\/p>\n<p>Nieves Sanchez Guitian, president of the Official College of Geologists, has reassured the public that the flurry of activity recorded on Tuesday remains \u201cwithin the normal range.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA fault does not necessarily release all its energy at once; in this case, it is releasing it over a longer period and through successive tremors,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is clear that this is the same place, the same fault and the same geological area. The accumulated tension is being released gradually, which is positive because it means there is less damage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Structural engineers and safety experts remain on site in Las Gabias to determine when evacuated families will be permitted to return to their homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5441,17],"class_list":["post-72753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-horizontal","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}