Story perspectives

Andalusia Declares Emergency After 5.2 Quake in Granada

8/15/2026

Summary

Andalusia Declares Emergency

Andalusian officials declared an emergency after a magnitude 5 earthquake struck Granada on August 15, 2026, reporting no injuries.
Vice-president Antonio Sanz Cabello urged residents to stay calm and avoid damaged buildings.
Emergency service 112 Andalucía logged more than 200 calls and about a hundred inspection requests for unsafe facades.
Police rescued passengers and removed cornices in Alhendín and Albaicín while President Juanma Moreno warned citizens to respect cordons and stay alert.

Summary

Granada Quake

The USGS measured the main shock at magnitude 5.2, while IGN reported 5.0 and GFZ 4.9.
GFZ located the hypocenter 10 km deep and the epicenter near Otura on Granada’s southern edge.
The shaking was strongly felt in Malaga city, extending the impact beyond Granada.
Earlier tremors included a magnitude 3.7 quake at 6:43 PM northwest of La Zubia (intensity III–IV) and a magnitude 1.9 quake at 8:39 AM southeast of Gójar (depth 11 km, intensity I–II).

History

Historical Context

The November 1 1755 Lisbon earthquake, magnitude ?7.7, killed roughly 30,000–40,000 people and destroyed about 85% of the city, prompting Marquis of Pombal’s reconstruction and the birth of modern seismology. Over 260 years later, the August 15 2026 magnitude-5 Granada quake triggered alerts from the USGS, Spain’s IGN and regional officials, who applied rapid scientific assessment and stricter building codes learned from the 1755 disaster.

1 of 3

Andalusia Declares Emergency

Andalusian officials declared an emergency after a magnitude 5 earthquake struck Granada on August 15, 2026, reporting no injuries.
Vice-president Antonio Sanz Cabello urged residents to stay calm and avoid damaged buildings.
Emergency service 112 Andalucía logged more than 200 calls and about a hundred inspection requests for unsafe facades.
Police rescued passengers and removed cornices in Alhendín and Albaicín while President Juanma Moreno warned citizens to respect cordons and stay alert.

1 / 3