Holiday hotspots in southern Spain were rocked in the early hours after a 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tabernas, sending locals including many British residents jumping out of bed.
The quake hit just before 1am, with the epicentre in Tabernas but tremors felt across Almería and beyond. Residents reported beds shaking, sofas sliding and furniture rattling, with one witness saying it felt “like a lorry scraping down the side of the house”.
Spain’s National Geographic Institute confirmed the tremor struck at 00:55. It was initially logged as magnitude 4.5 before being revised down to 4.3. The shallow depth — virtually at the surface near the Desierto de Tabernas area — explains why the shaking was so intense.
Tabernas mayor José Díaz said the town was badly shaken, prompting residents to rush into the streets to check for damage. No injuries or serious damage have been reported.
Within minutes, the main quake was followed by five aftershocks, ranging from magnitudes 1.5 to 1.9, detected between 1:03am and 1:23am. These smaller quakes were deeper underground and caused little additional impact.
According to reports submitted to the IGN, the tremor was felt in more than 100 municipalities across at least four provinces, including Murcia, Granada and Jaén.
The jolt comes just days after a smaller 3.2 quake rattled Partaloa, and amid heightened seismic activity elsewhere in southern Spain. The IGN recently reported hundreds of minor earthquakes near Málaga and Cádiz, most at shallow depths and strong enough to be felt by residents.
While Almería is no stranger to seismic scares, officials stressed there is no cause for alarm, with monitoring ongoing as residents recover from a sleepless night.
