On Wednesday, May 11 at 18:47 pm local time, a magnitude 5.1 Mw (moment magnitude) earthquake occurred in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain, close to the town of Lorca (population ~ 86, 000).
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has set a location depth of 0.6 miles and an epicentral location 73 miles southwest of Alicante and 218 miles south-southeast of the Spanish capital, Madrid. Early Thursday, the European-Mediterranean Seismology Centre updated its report of the earthquake to a magnitude 5.1 Ml (local magnitude) and revised its initial depth estimate to 2 km.
Murcia is Spain’s most seismically active area. Yesterday’s earthquake occurred within the plate boundary region that separates the Eurasia and Africa (Nubia) plates.
According to the USGS ShakeMap, a confined area close to the epicenter experienced ‘strong’ shaking of intensity VI on the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale, where the potential for damage is light for resistant structures and moderate for vulnerable structures. The USGS PAGER system reports that the town of Lorca experienced such shaking.
Initial reports indicate some damage in the center of Lorca, and emerging reports indicate that some historical buildings in the city have suffered structural damage– noticeably the belfry of an old church which collapsed soon after the earthquake. Debris, such as fallen bricks, broken windows, and rubble, is reportedly littering the streets of the central area of the town. As of Thursday, officials have confirmed eight fatalities.
Source : RMS Press Release
