Several earthquakes struck the southern Spanish province of Granada on Tuesday night, causing minor damage and sending residents onto the streets in panic.
Three earthquakes over 4.0 magnitude and around 40 aftershocks were felt across the region in just a few minutes. Fifteen of them caused damage to buildings, such as cracks and falling roof tiles.
No injuries have been reported, but many citizens fled to the streets in fear while others slept in their cars overnight.
The earthquakes came just days after the same area was struck by a 4.4 magnitude tremor on Saturday which damaged several homes at its epicentre in Santa Fe.
Emergency services in the community of Andalusia said they had received more than 500 calls.
Most of the tremors were recorded between 22:36 CET on Tuesday and 06:22 CET on Wednesday, the authorities added.
“Collaboration between administrations is essential to give a joint response to the earthquakes in Granada,” said Elías Bendodo, spokesman of the Andalusian government.
Overnight, the authorities had moved the Emergency Plan for Seismic Risk in Andalusia to the pre-emergency phase.
“It has been a complicated night,” added the regional Minister for Development and Infrastructure, Marifran Carazo.
“I send my message of affection to the people of Granada at this time when calm and confidence in the work being carried out by the emergency services throughout the night must prevail.”
On Wednesday, the government stated that they were inspecting over 1,400 housing units in Granada for damage following the earthquakes to reassure residents.
“I take responsibility for the concern of thousands of people,” tweeted Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday.
“It is time to keep calm and follow the instructions of the emergency services, let’s hope that normality will be restored soon.”
The mayor of Granada, Luis Salvador, also paid tribute to the emergency services on social media.
“I would like to congratulate the local police, the Granada Fire Brigade, and Proteccion Civil Granada for their professionalism and the peace of mind it gives to the people of Granada to be protected by them,” he said.
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