Granada earthquake - live: Tourists flee and homes wrecked as tremor hits Spain

Granada earthquake - live: Tourists flee and homes wrecked as tremor hits Spain Residents fled their homes and tourists ran from hotels in panic in the city of Granada, Spain, after the powerful 5-magnitude earthquake struck A powerful 5-magnitude earthquake has hit part of Spain popular with tourists, leaving a trail of destruction with panicking tourists running from their hotels. The southern city of Granada, known for its stunning Alhambra Palace, was rocked by the tremor at around 1am local time. Homes and cars have been heavily damaged. Antonio Sanz Cabello, vice-president of the Andalusian government, said in a post on X that authorities had declared an emergency. "If you're in Granada, you've felt the earthquake, you're okay, and your home shows no damage, stay calm and avoid entering and exiting buildings unnecessarily," he said. "On the street, stay away from facades, cornices, balconies, walls, and other elements that could fall." Today's earthquake follows another tremor in Granada in July which measured 3.7 on the Richter scale. Key Events An earthquake also hit Granada last month which measured a magnitude of 3.7. The quake occurred 3.73 miles (6km) south of Granada on July 26 sparking fear in the nearby city as “floors and walls moved”. The epicentre was in the town of Ogíjares, at a depth of 6km. It was felt in several parts of Granada province as well as in several municipalities in Malaga province. “It was rough here in Churriana de la Vega; I was asleep and went flying out of bed,” one person who lives 3km from the epicentre said. The earthquakes in Granada is described as a 'seismic swarm' rather than one typically strong tremor. Unlike conventional sequences, where a violent main event occurs followed by aftershocks that progressively decrease in magnitude, a seismic swarm sees a large number of more moderate tremors which are concentrated in the same area and can go on for days. There were around 40 earthquakes in Granada and its metropolitan area during the early hours of Saturday morning. These followed the magnitude 5 quake centered in Alhendín at 1.04am causing significant damage. The National Geographic Institute recorded the 40 tremors after the main one in Alhendín which triggered more than 200 emergency calls. A magnitude 5 earthquake with its epicentre in Alhendín shook Granada during the early hours of the morning. According to the National Geographic Institute a quake occurred at exactly 1.04am with a depth of 2km, followed by another at 10km, with a latitude of 37,1147 degrees and -3.6618 degrees longitude. The earthquake occurred seven hours after an initial earthquake of magnitude 3.7 with an epicentre in the town of La Zubia. “If you’re in Granada, you’ve felt the earthquake, you’re okay, and your home shows no damage, stay calm and avoid entering and exiting buildings unnecessarily,” he said. “On the street, stay away from facades, cornices, balconies, walls, and other elements that could fall.”