Five earthquakes were felt across Granada’s metropolitan area in just five hours on Wednesday. The strongest, a magnitude 2.3 quake, struck La Zubia at 10:35 a.m., as seismic activity continued in the region.
Minutes after the first quake, La Zubia was shaken again by a magnitude 1.6 event at a depth of five kilometers. Earlier in the morning, Churriana de la Vega recorded a magnitude 1.6 quake at 5:07 a.m., Huétor Vega had a magnitude 1.5 tremor at 7:54 a.m., and Granada city registered a quake at 9:22 a.m., 12 kilometers below the surface.
The Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) reports that these quakes are part of the Alhendín seismic series, which has been active since August 14. Only five of the day's tremors were strong enough to be felt, but by midday the IGN had counted more than 40 seismic events in the area since dawn. Most were too weak for people to notice, while the number and spread of epicenters marked an increase in activity. By August 31, the series had reached 1,430 recorded earthquakes in 17 days, information from the IGN.
Unlike on previous days, the epicenters were scattered across a wider area, from the southern metropolitan belt to towns including Maracena, Albolote, Santa Cruz del Comercio, and Loja. This broader distribution makes monitoring and response more complicated, as local authorities have to track a larger region for possible aftershocks or damage. EFE and the IGN report that the current sequence began with a magnitude 3.7 quake on August 14, followed by two magnitude 4.8 events on August 15 and August 18, with epicenters near Alhendín and the Gójar-Otura area.
For residents, the repeated tremors have become a source of worry. No injuries or major damage have been reported, but the ongoing activity has increased anxiety and renewed attention to emergency plans. The IGN continues to monitor the situation, and residents remain uncertain about when the seismic series will settle down. By September 1, the Andalusian government had requested a state of civil protection for 16 municipalities affected by the series. Compensation claims for earthquake-related damage in Granada surpassed 10.5 million euros by September 2.
Recent weather extremes have already put local infrastructure under strain, as seen in the recent yellow alert for storms in Castellón. Granada’s seismic instability now adds another risk for residents and authorities.
The frequency and unpredictability of the quakes stand out more than the strength of individual events. IGN data shows a persistent, widespread pattern that makes it harder to predict where or when the next tremor might happen. Even moderate quakes, when frequent and spread out, can disrupt daily life and test the ability to recover of local communities.
