Granada in state of pre emergency after city is rattled by seven earthquakes in less than an hour

GRANADA’s mayor has declared a state of pre emergency after a series of earthquakes shook the city, including two big quakes in less than 15 minutes.

An estimated 20 earthquakes and aftershocks were felt around the west Granada last night, with Santa Fe, Atarfe, Chauchina and Cullar Vega areas among the worst affected. 

Panicked locals were seen fleeing their homes in search of safety, with cracks in building reported across the city. 

Three of the shocks hitting above a magnitude four and above, with  4.5 the most powerful.

No one has been hurt in the quakes but Mayor Luis Salvador confirmed he was in ‘permanent contact with police and firefighters’. 

He tweeted at 11pm last night: “Another two quakes of 4.1 and 4.3 on the Richter scale have just occurred in less than 15 minutes.

Later he wrote:“Following on from the other two earthquakes we’ve had a third which has been longer and around the same intensity.

“There are people leaving their homes.

“Please take care around chimneys or any object that could fall onto the street.”

 Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said he was keeping a close eye on the situation, saying: “I understand the worry of thousands of people.

“It’s important to stay calm and follow the advice of the emergency services.

“We trust things will get back to normal soon.”

Since December 2020, Andalusia has registered more than 150 low-magnitude earthquakes and experts have said they can’t rule out a worsening of the situation. 

Spain’s last big major earthquake was in nearby Lorca in the neighbouring province of Murcia in 2011 when nine people died and dozens were injured.