A 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck southern Spain at 7:13 a.m., shaking over 50 towns, including the tourist hotspot Alicante. The quake occurred at a depth of two kilometers off the coast of Almeria, according to Spain’s National Geographic Institute.
Tremors were strong enough to cause part of the ceiling at Almeria Airport to collapse an hour later. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported.
Locals and tourists described the quake as “strong” and “surprisingly long.” A hotel guest in Roquetas De Mar wrote, “The whole hotel room was shaking.” A British ex-pat said it gave her a “rude awakening” and was “pretty scary to say the least.”
One Almería resident shared, “The whole house shook,” while another, Jose Manuel Navarro, said he jumped out of bed “to stand in the doorway” as lamps swayed.
The quake’s effects were also felt in Malaga, Granada, Jaen, and the Levante region, including Murcia, Alicante, and Albacete.
