TWO further earthquakes in the Alborán sea between Morocco and southern Spain have caused houses to collapse in Melilla and left 26 people injured.
The quakes were felt in the provinces of Granada, Málaga, Sevilla and Jaén and the full impact was felt in the Spanish-owned city-province of Melilla on the northern Moroccan coast, close to the Algerian border.
According to the National Geographical Institute (IGN), the first tremor measured 3.2 on the Richter scale and came at 03.14hrs this morning (Monday), and the second, at 04.22hrs, reached 6.3 on the scale.
A number of aftershocks followed, with the worst measuring 4.5 and striking at 04.34hrs.
None of the injured parties are said to be in a serious condition – most were treated for cuts from shattering windows and tiles, bruises from having fallen on stairs as the earth moved, or panic attacks.
In Andalucía, hundreds of residents rushed out into the street, fearing their homes would collapse on top of them.
Schools are shut across Melilla until the buildings can be inspected for safety, but water and electricity supplies have not been affected.
Despite the magnitude of the main quake at 04.22hrs, the fact it was 10 kilometres below the surface means the damage was not as great as seen in Lorca (Murcia) in May 2011, when a tremor of 5.3 left 11 people dead and reduced the city to rubble – the worst in Spain's history.
The epicentre of this morning's earthquakes was 62 kilometres from the island of Alhucemas, about halfway between Tangiers and Melilla and a few hundred metres from the Moroccan coast.
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