Gran Canaria rocked by earthquake as tremors shake holiday hotspots | World | News
The holiday island of Gran Canaria has been hit by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake. The Canary Islands Seismic Network registered the earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale and clarifies urgently that the movement has no relation to the seismicity of Tenerife.
The earthquake was felt throughout the island territory. It happened at 9.50am this morning, generating reports from different geographical points of the archipelago. Early reports say the quake was also felt on the neighbouring Canary island of Fuerteventura. Details are still coming in so it is not known if any damage has been caused. Locals and tourists in different parts of the island have reported feeling the quake. The authorities say anyone hurt or suffering damage should contact the emergency services.
The regional television programme ‘Buenos Días Canarias’ of Televisión Canaria has been in charge of advancing the live information with reports from people who felt the vibration in their homes and workplaces.
Official sources from the National Geographic Institute (IGN) confirmed the quake located off the sea on the northern slope of the island territory. The seismic network measurement stations captured the signal of the seismic event immediately.
At the same time, the Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands (Involcan) has reported through its official channels the technical parameters associated with the phenomenon.
Automated location and monitoring systems have placed the epicentre in the sea, exactly at a distance of 59 kilometres from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the island’s capital.
Given the alarm generated in the population by the intensity of the quake, Involcan scientists have issued an urgent clarification regarding the nature of the tectonic fracture. The scientific body has categorically stressed that this earthquake has no relation to the volcanic seismicity recorded in Tenerife.
Although the preliminary automated data offer an approximation of the power of the seismic phenomenon, the specialists and technicians of IGN and Involcan are working on the detailed analysis of the waves received.
The seismic control centres have clarified that the final magnitude of the earthquake has yet to be determined with total accuracy, as well as the exact depth at which the focus of the movement has originated in the seabed.
The scientific confirmation will be updated in the next few hours.
