Three further earthquakes rattled Spain’s southern Granada province, prompting authorities to restrict tourist access to the medieval Alhambra complex as buildings were damaged and several museums and sports facilities closed.
At least three people suffered minor injuries, Andalusia regional official Antonio Sanz said. One of them, a child, was taken to hospital.
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Each of the latest earthquakes measured above magnitude 4, according to the country’s National Geographic Institute (IGN).
The tremors came after a magnitude 5 earthquake struck the historic city of Granada early Saturday, damaging homes and cars and temporarily closing the medieval palace-fortress of the Alhambra. The landmark, one of Spain’s leading tourist attractions, drew 2.7 million visitors last year.
Authorities evacuated the Alcazaba, the complex’s oldest section and historic fortress, while access to the Nasrid Palaces remained suspended.
Emergency services said they had received more than 500 reports of cracks, falling debris and other earthquake-related incidents. About a dozen calls requested medical assistance, most involving anxiety attacks.
Videos shared on social media showed rubble scattered across streets and cars damaged in the popular tourist city.
“Everything came crashing down. It was terrifying,” Cristina Ruiz Lopez, a laboratory worker who was inside a Granada supermarket when the earthquake struck, wrote on X.
Toni Quinones, a social worker in La Zubia, roughly five kilometres southeast of Granada, said firefighters were “working continuously” in her neighbourhood.
“In addition to cracks and other damage, chimneys are falling, causing more serious damage,” she wrote on X.
Granada city hall ordered all municipal buildings to close, apart from facilities providing emergency and essential services, as a precaution.
Granada mayor Marifran Carazo urged residents to remain indoors and “above all, if there is another tremor, avoid going outside and standing alongside buildings”.
Interior damage to a house in Granada following this morning’s earthquake
“I know the anguish we experienced this morning, especially among our elderly people and young children, who had never experienced a situation like this before.”
Granada’s metro operator said on X that it was cutting train speeds to 30km/h as a precautionary measure. Local media also reported that several hotels had been evacuated.
Several buildings, mainly residential properties, were damaged during the tremors. Large cracks appeared in walls, sections of facades came loose and bricks spilled onto pavements.
The strongest earthquake, measuring magnitude 4.7, struck at 10.37am local time, with its surface-level epicentre in Gojar, 10km south of Granada city, the IGN said.
Earthquakes occurring close to the surface are generally felt more strongly and can cause more localised damage than deeper tremors of comparable magnitude.
The Gojar quake was followed within a short time by slightly weaker tremors in two nearby towns on Granada’s southern outskirts.
The latest activity followed a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that woke residents in Granada shortly after 1am on Saturday.
No injuries were reported after that quake, possibly because fewer people were outside at that hour, although some buildings sustained damage.
“Experts point out that it is possible for seismic movements and aftershocks to continue in the area,” Juan Manuel Moreno, head of the regional government, wrote on X, urging “maximum caution”.
