Granada experienced in the early hours of this Saturday the most significant earthquake recorded in the province since 1955. Hundreds of thousands of Granadans were surprised at one in the morning by a shake like they had never experienced before, with a magnitude of 4.8 and the epicenter located in Alhendín, two kilometers below the surface.
Already during Friday afternoon a first tremor was recorded, after 6 p.m., which put the population on alert, although the vast majority continued with their lives, accustomed to frequent and low-intensity seismic activity. But what was experienced at dawn was on another level, according to collected testimonies. “First the ground roared and then the sky did,” said this Saturday to EL MUNDO the streamer Borja Cobo Hervás, who was live on his Twitch profile when the furniture and walls of his living room began to move, and who describes how a tremendous thunderstorm accompanied the different aftershocks that were felt for hours until well into the morning.
In total, records from the National Geographic Institute (IGN) have logged in the last 24 hours almost a hundred movements, although only 13 were felt by the population. The largest aftershock had a magnitude of 3.3 and occurred around six in the morning.
From the questionnaires used by the IGN to measure the impact on the population, it can be concluded that the earthquake was felt in central and eastern Andalusia, as well as in some localities of the Region of Murcia, southern Castilla-La Mancha, and even the Community of Madrid.
The earthquake caused widespread but minor damage to buildings in the entire metropolitan area of Granada. Cornices and ornamental elements fell onto public roads, causing damage to the roadways and parked cars. Many cracks have also appeared in buildings which, according to inspections carried out by the affected municipalities, do not compromise the structure of the buildings. In fact, many residents who left their homes during the early hours returned in the morning.
The most immediate precedent of these earthquakes was the one experienced in the Granadan towns of Santa Fe and Atarfe during several months of the first half of 2021, with a “seismic swarm” of up to 3,000 shallow movements, the maximum magnitude then reaching 4.5.
Attendees at a wedding at the Basilica of the Virgin of Sorrows in Granada felt the first ground movement after 6 p.m. this Friday, in the middle of the ceremony. The incident prompted some sarcastic comments from the priest officiating the mass, but little else. The church had shaken noticeably for all the guests but the religious event continued without major problems, Antonio, one of the attendees, explained to EL MUNDO.
Subsequently, the Archdiocese of Granada decided to suspend worship and close five temples in the capital, including this very basilica, as well as the Santa María Magdalena parish; the San Miguel Bajo church in the Albaicín; the Nuestra Señora de Gracia parish, and the Santos Justo y Pastor Parish. The closure has been decreed preventively until the nature and seriousness of the detected damages are known.
Regarding the most emblematic monument of Granada, the Alhambra, the Board has verified that it has not suffered any damage, although its opening to the public was delayed three hours to ensure there was no risk for the thousands of visitors who daily tour the Nasrid Palaces and the Generalife Gardens.
Cracks in buildings
In the municipality of Huétor Vega, the one a.m. earthquake caught many residents at the fair organized on the occasion of the feast of San Roque. The power went out for a few minutes and people hurriedly left the fairgrounds.
The mayor of Las Gabias, María Merinda Sádaba, was also alerted when the whole house started to move. She immediately contacted the Local Police and went out on the street along with municipal technicians and Civil Protection to calm the residents and attend to all the reports that were coming in. “There are cracks in some buildings but structural damage has been ruled out. Granadans are used to tremors but this has been the strongest I remember,” the mayor explained in conversation with EL MUNDO. “Recent news from Venezuela and Colombia, with large magnitude earthquakes and catastrophic damage, weighs on the spirits of the residents. The initial scare and shock cannot be avoided,” she added.
In Granada city, the experience has been very different depending on the type of housing. Elena lives on the eighth floor of an apartment block on Licenciado Vidrieras street, near Cervantes avenue, and was awakened by a strong shake that knocked objects off several shelves. During the morning her husband had to work pumping water out of a nearby house under construction. The downpour that began after the earthquake, at dawn, also caused flooding problems in several municipalities of the province: “This day is going to be very long,” Elena said, overwhelmed by the accumulation of natural phenomena that have occurred in such a short time.
The Granada City Council has attended to almost a hundred incidents related to the earthquake throughout the day, especially in the Zaidín district, where the most serious damage has been recorded although none seems structurally critical at first glance. The mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo, explained that municipal services remain “activated, coordinated, and monitoring.”
Carazo explained that the city had not suffered an earthquake of this magnitude since 1955. Regarding the damage reported by residents, the mayor announced that an information campaign will be launched so that citizens can differentiate between small cracks that do not affect the building’s structure and deeper ones. A group of 16 architects has been put to work to assess the buildings where damage has been recorded. “Although we continue reviewing, inspecting, and attending to any incidents that may arise, the reality is that we have not suffered personal injuries, which is the most important thing, and that among the damage to buildings and materials, the impact has been minor, but we continue checking, doing that evaluation, which is what corresponds,” Carazo added.