Seville awoken by earthquake

Many residents of Southern Portugal and Andalusia were woken up on Monday August 26 by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake.

Multiple calls came into 112 emergency services from towns that felt the shake at 6.11am. The epicentre of the quake just off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal, was strong enough to be felt as far away as Morocco.

The earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 28km, had an initial magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale in the Atlantic, while by the time it reached Seville, it registered 5.5, making it the strongest earthquake in the region in 15 years, according to seismologists.

No injuries, no tsunami warnings

There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries and no tsunami warnings. The quake was the strongest to hit along the coast of Portugal since 2009, when a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast. One of the worst seismic disasters happened in 1755, when a powerful earthquake killed up to 50,000 people, including 10,000 in Morocco.

In the last 7 days, Andalusia has registered 20 cases of seismic activity, the strongest being In Alborán at 3.7 magnitude on the Richter scale, something quite common in this part of the World.