Residents were shaken out of their slumber across Murcia and Alicante this morning after two earthquakes hit within the space of four hours.
The first tremor was recorded at 2.04am on Wednesday, according to the National Geographic Institute (IGN).
It had a magnitude of 3.1 and its epicentre was located southeast of Beniel, close to Murcia’s border with the province of Alicante.
The shallow earthquake occurred at a depth of approximately three kilometres and was assigned an intensity of III.
Residents reported feeling the shaking in several municipalities across Murcia and the Vega Baja.
‘It shook me awake, it was scary,’ one local resident wrote on X, while another said: ‘It was pretty noticeable shaking!’
The Murcia region’s 112 emergency centre received 13 calls from members of the public who had noticed the tremor.
No injuries or property damage were reported.
Second earthquake before sunrise
A second earthquake struck the same area at 6.31am, just over four hours later.
The IGN recorded a magnitude of 3.0 and placed its epicentre near Beniel at a depth of approximately five kilometres.
Initial estimates had located the second earthquake near San Pedro del Pinatar, although the epicentre was subsequently revised following further analysis.
The tremors come just days after a stronger magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck southeast of Beniel on September 25.
That movement occurred at a depth of eight kilometres and reached a maximum intensity of between III and IV.
Another smaller earthquake with a magnitude of 1.6 was detected in the same area on September 26.
Southeastern Spain experiences relatively frequent seismic activity and low-magnitude earthquakes are not considered unusual.
Authorities have nevertheless continued monitoring the latest activity around Beniel.
