Spain activated its tsunami monitoring system on Monday morning after a 5.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded off its southern coast.
The quake struck at 7.13am in the Alboran Sea near Cabo de Palos, Almeria, an area known for its seismic activity.
Alerts were sent to thousands of mobile phones in Andalucia and even as far away as Alicante and Valencia.
One Spaniard from Linares (Jaen), in Andalucia, wrote on X that immediately after receiving the alert she felt intense tremors, while one Brit wrote on Facebook: ‘It shook our house in Mojacar.’
Pedro wrote on X: ‘This morning I was still at home and everything started to vibrate… seconds later, an alert on my phone said an earthquake had occurred.’
Another local, Jose, added: ‘It was intense, my phone received the earthquake alert and a second later my house was shaking.’
According to the National Geographic Institute (IGN), the earthquake reached a depth of three kilometers and and was felt in dozens of towns.
The warning sent to people’s mobile phones told them to ‘put on shoes… even if you’re just walking to the room next door.’
It also advised people to check the gas in their homes, and that if they smell it to turn it off. If they are unable to turn it off, they were advised to evacuate the building.
The alert also said to ‘avoid damaged buildings’ and to evacuate if you believe it could be at risk of collapse.
The tremors from the earthquake were reported by people in Melilla, Almeria, Murcia, Granada and Malaga.
Alerts were also sent to phones in Ceuta, and a moderate alert has been declared in provinces such as Valencia, Castellon, Cadiz, Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona and the Balearic Islands.
The earthquake prompted the activation of a tsunami alert for several minutes as a preventive measure in the areas closest to the epicenter, including the province of Malaga.
The warning was issued by the IGN (National Institute of Natural Resources) due to the potential risk that an underwater movement of this magnitude could generate abnormal variations in sea level.
So far, no property or personal damage has been reported, although emergency agencies remain actively monitoring the situation.
