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It started with a sound. "A kind of strange creaking," one resident recalled, before the tremor hit. "Absolutely everything was moving like a jumbled mess." At 1.04am on Saturday August 15, an earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale struck with its epicentre in Alhendín, just south of Granada city, at a depth of only two kilometres.

 

It was felt across much of Andalucía, particularly in Málaga, Jaén and Córdoba, and as far away as Madrid, Murcia and Extremadura, reaching more than 200 municipalities across five autonomous communities.

 

No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but the night that followed was far from calm. By 7.00am, the National Geographic Institute (IGN) had recorded 41 earthquakes in the area. By the end of Saturday, that number had risen to 98 aftershocks, thirteen of which were strong enough to be felt. Two in particular stood out: a magnitude 3.3 tremor centred in Gójar at 6.34am, and another of magnitude 3 just before 9.00am.

 

For those closest to the epicentre, it was deeply unsettling. "We felt such a tremor that it seemed like the house was going to fall on top of us," said José, who lives in Alhendín. He and his partner Francisca spent the night outside, unable to return indoors. In Granada city, Lucía Ruiz was jolted awake. "I felt like the ceiling was going to collapse," she said. "I jumped out of bed and was about to go outside when it stopped." In Armilla, residents gathered in parks and open spaces, swapping updates on WhatsApp, until an early-morning electrical storm sent many back inside.

 

The Granada Ayuntamiento mobilised rapidly. By the end of Saturday, the Policía Local had received 225 calls, with more than 800 inspection requests logged in total. Fire and rescue teams carried out 122 interventions on the first day alone, primarily in Ogíjares and the southern districts of the city. A further 32 interventions followed overnight into Sunday.

 

Mayor Marifrán Carazo sought to reassure residents. "The initial results are reassuring. No widespread structural damage has been observed," she said, though inspections are continuing, with particular attention paid to older buildings in the Zaidín neighbourhood where damage was more visible. Volunteer building engineers from the Official Association of Technical Architects have joined the effort to help clear the backlog of requests.

 

Five Catholic churches in the city also suffered internal damage, including the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows and the Parish of Saints Justus and Pastor. The Archdiocese requested that none of the affected churches open for worship until inspections are completed. Granada Cathedral, which is hosting the Kerygma exhibition, was temporarily closed as a precaution but found to be undamaged.

 

Andalucía's regional president Juanma Moreno, already managing the wildfire crisis in Niebla, activated the Emergency Plan for Seismic Risk and urged calm. He confirmed that King Felipe VI had called him personally to enquire about the situation. Aftershocks are expected to continue in coming days and weeks. "We ask citizens that if they feel any tremors, they already know how to behave," he said.

 

The earthquake is the most significant to hit Granada since 1956, edging past the seismic swarm that struck the Vega de Granada in 2021 in terms of magnitude, though so far without the prolonged disruption that followed that event.

 

 

Images: Guardia Civil/X