A magnitude 3.7 earthquake shook Granada capital and numerous municipalities in its metropolitan area this Friday. The seismic movement occurred exactly at 6:43 PM, according to data published by the National Geographic Institute (IGN).
The epicenter has been located to the northwest of La Zubia, in the metropolitan belt of Granada, and the hypocenter was situated five kilometers deep. Its superficial nature has favored the shaking being clearly perceived by the population.
The IGN has provisionally assigned the earthquake a maximum intensity of between III and IV, a level that describes the observed effects and the perception of the tremor, and that should not be confused with the magnitude 3.7, which measures the energy released.
The earthquake is felt in numerous municipalities of Granada
The macroseismic questionnaires collected by the IGN show that the movement has been felt in an extensive area of the province, from the metropolitan area to the Tropical Coast and municipalities of Los Montes.
The reports of greater intensity, between III and IV, come from Armilla, Calahonda, Churriana de la Vega, Huétor Santillán, Ogíjares, and Pedro Ruiz, a nucleus belonging to Santa Fe.
The tremor has also been perceived with intensity III in Granada capital and in localities such as Alhendín, Cúllar Vega, Dílar, Gójar, Huétor Vega, Maracena, Santa Fe, Cenes de la Vega, Fuente Vaqueros, Las Gabias, and Villa de Otura.
The report published by the agency also includes communications from Motril, La Herradura, Padul, Dúrcal, Píñar, Benalúa de las Villas, Alfacar, and Güéjar Sierra, among other points. The data may vary as the IGN receives new questionnaires from people who have felt the earthquake.
For the moment, the authorities have not disseminated an official balance of possible personal or material damages related to the shaking.
Second earthquake recorded this Friday in Granada
The movement in the afternoon is the second detected this Friday in the province. At 8:39 AM, the IGN recorded another earthquake of magnitude 1.9 with an epicenter to the southeast of Gójar and at eleven kilometers deep.
The morning quake reached an intensity of between I and II, much lower than that of the earthquake recorded in the afternoon, and was perceived much more weakly.
Granada is located in one of the areas of highest seismic activity in the Peninsula. The province usually records low magnitude movements, many of them imperceptible to the population, although shallow earthquakes can be clearly felt even when they have moderate magnitudes.