AN EARTHQUAKE measuring 2.4 on the Richter scale has been reported to the north-east of Guardamar del Segura in the southern limits of the province of Alicante.
At this magnitude, damage is extremely rare and any registered would be very minor, limited to a cup falling over or lightweight items falling off shelves.
But it would normally be felt, and in fact, emergency services received calls from Dolores, Elche and Rojales.
It was said to be at 11 kilometres underground, deep enough not to cause an impact, and was registered at exactly 22.41 on Monday halfway between Guardamar and the beach town of Santa Pola.
The quake may have been felt further afield, but as yet this has not been reported.
No aftershocks were felt, meaning any that came would have been below 2 on the Richter scale.
Minor tremors of this nature are common in the south-east of Spain and in the Canary Islands – with the exception of the Lorca (Murcia) quake in May 2011 in which 11 people died, the worst in Spain in over a century, the vast majority of the country's earthquakes tend to result in little more than anecdote fodder.
Photograph by the National Geographical Institute (IGN), part of Spain's ministry of public works and infrastructure
