Since Friday, August 14th, seismic activity in the Granada area has been constant, accumulating over 430 earthquakes and aftershocks, most of them very shallow. Several of these particularly intense tremors have also been felt in the province of Malaga, causing public alarm.
The most significant seismic events, with magnitudes reaching 4.8 degrees and intensity V-VI, occurred in the early hours of August 15th and the morning of Tuesday the 18th. These events caused localities such as Alhendín, Gójar, and La Subia to experience notable tremors. Public impact has been high, with over 15,000 questionnaires received by the National Geographic Institute (IGN), indicating that more than 500 localities, mainly in Andalusia, felt the effects.
Experts from the IGN point out that the intensity of the damages and effects is still being reviewed, and that the region is located in one of the areas with the highest tectonic hazard in the Iberian Peninsula. The shallow depth of the seismic sources, less than 10 kilometers, has multiplied the force of the seismic waves reaching the surface.
In the province of Malaga, especially in regions like Axarquía and the capital, scares and prolonged tremors have been reported. Although no structural or personal damage has been registered in Malaga, some residents evacuated their homes due to fear of aftershocks. The most significant incidents have been minor falls of domestic objects.
The origin of this instability is attributed to normal faults, framed within the complex interaction between the African and Eurasian tectonic plates. The IGN maintains a reinforced deployment of seismic sensors to monitor the swarm's evolution, adding to the area's historical activity, considered to have high seismic hazard.
