Magnitude 5 earthquake jolts Granada overnight: Damage reported across Andalucia

Residents across much of Andalucia woke to a sharp jolt just after 1am on Saturday when a magnitude 5 earthquake struck near Alhendin, on the edge of Granada’s metropolitan area. Officials confirmed material damage in several towns but said no one was hurt.

Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGN) first put the quake at 4.8 before revising it upwards to 5.0. The epicentre sat roughly two kilometres deep near Alhendin, with coordinates around 37.11 north and 3.66 west. A smaller 2.6 tremor followed six minutes later near the village of Gojar.

#Earthquake (#terremoto) possibly felt 39 sec ago in #Spain. Felt it? Tell us via:
📱https://t.co/QMSpuj6Z2H
🌐https://t.co/AXvOM7I4Th
🖥https://t.co/wPtMW5ND1t
⚠ Automatic crowdsourced detection, not seismically verified yet. More info soon! pic.twitter.com/ilTsnJTQpz

— EMSC (@LastQuake) August 14, 2026

Emergency services swing into action

Andalucia’s regional government immediately activated phase 1 of its seismic risk emergency plan. Presidency, Health and Emergencies councillor Antonio Sanz said teams were coordinating with the provincial council and local councils to check buildings and homes for damage.

Firefighters and police sealed off affected spots and carried out inspections through the night.

More than 80 calls flooded the 112 emergency line from across the region, except Huelva and Cadiz. Callers reported falling objects, shaking furniture and rattling doors and windows. In Armilla and other parts of the Granada metro area, pieces of facades and roof tiles came down. Similar minor damage appeared in several nearby towns.

Sanz urged people to stay calm, avoid unnecessary trips in and out of buildings, and keep clear of walls, cornices and balconies that might still shed material. “Respect the cordons and do not approach damaged zones,” he said. “Keep calm and follow the basic self-protection steps.”

Que susto… menudo meneo. Terremoto sentido en Velez-Malaga 1:05. La cama se movia … 😬 pic.twitter.com/cQLurEbKnv

— Victoria (@Victoria_Guti) August 14, 2026

Felt much further than Granada

Shaking reached almost every corner of Granada province, from the capital and its surrounding belt to Huescar in the north, the Costa Tropical towns of Almuñecar, Salobrena and Motril, the Alpujarra and the western districts. Residents in Jaen (Alcala la Real, Linares, Jodar), the Almeria coast (including the capital, Roquetas, El Ejido and Adra), the Malaga coastline from Fuengirola and Torremolinos to Velez, and even Cordoba city also felt the movement.

Earlier on Friday the same zone had already produced three smaller quakes. The strongest of those, a 3.7 magnitude event centred on La Zubia with intensity IV, had already put people on edge seven hours before the main shock.

Aftershocks keep teams busy

By dawn on Saturday morning the IGN had logged a cluster of further tremors between magnitudes 1.6 and 2.6 around Ogijares, La Zubia, Otura, Gojar, Churriana de la Vega, Armilla and Alhendin. Authorities continued monitoring the situation while reminding the public that Granada sits in one of Spain’s more active seismic basins, where shallow events can feel stronger than their magnitude suggests.