• 

• News
• World news
• Earthquake

A 4.1 magnitude earthquake has hit southern Spain with its epicentre in Murcia and it has rocked popular tourist spots for Brits including Benidorm and Alicante

A popular holiday destination for Brits in Spain has been rocked by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake.

Emergency services have been flooded with calls following the earthquake in Murcia today which was recorded by the National Geographic Institute (IGN) at 11.59am and it is understood to have lasted for several seconds.

The earthquake comes after Naples, Italy, was struck by a major 4.7 magnitude tremor that damaged buildings, cars and saw around 20 people injured on Friday.

Today's earthquake in Spain reportedly rocked neighbouring areas Alicante, a popular holiday destination for Brits who also head to nearby Benidorm, and Albacete.

The quake was centred in the town of Librilla at a depth of around 3 miles with Murcia located about 18 miles away.

Emergency services 112 wrote on X: The 112 Emergency Coordination Centre for the Region of Murcia has received more than 80 calls (...) at various points in the region. So far, no personal or material damage has been reported."

Spain's National Graphic Institute (IGN) says that there have been seven tremors in the past few days before this earthquake, and the increased seismic activity has led to 21 over the past month. But this is the strongest earthquake int he past six months, surpassing that on June 3 which had a magnitude of 2.3.

In 2011 Spain suffered its worst earthquake in decades which left 10 people dead in the southern Spanish town of Lorca. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes following the 5.2 magnitude tremor which saw several buildings collapse in the town which is southwest of Alicante.

Lines of cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble and a hospital was also evacuated.

Southern Spain is at a higher risk from earthquakes as specifically Andalusia and Murcia are on the northern margin of collision zone between the Eurasian plate and the Nubian (African) plate, which is converging northward into Eurasia at approximately 4–5 mm/year.

This convergence which built the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and the Alps of central Europe in previous geological periods, is currently seen in southern Spain through the fault systems of the Betic Cordillera: the mountain belt running from the Gibraltar Arc in the west through Malaga, Granada, Almeria, and Murcia to the Mediterranean coast.

Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.