Earth moving

DID the earth move for you on Thursday, March 17?

The coast of Alicante registered an earthquake of 2.6 degrees of magnitude on the Richter scale as reported by the National Geographic Institute.

The tremor occurred off the coast of the capital of the province.

The seismic movement was recorded at 10.27pm, about 100 kilometres from the coast of the city of Alicante and about 55 kilometres from the Island of Formentera, the epicentre being located six kilometres deep.

This earthquake is the 25th registered in the province of Alicante in 2023, greater than 1.5 degrees of magnitude, and the sixth located on the Alicante coast.

The earthquake was the second largest seismic movement recorded in the province this year, after the one recorded on January 19, off the coast of Santa Pola, which reached 2.9 degrees of magnitude.

Measured against the size of the country, earthquakes in Spain occur very rarely. Seventeen people have died since 1950 from the direct consequences of earthquakes. There was one earthquake that caused a subsequent tsunami, which claimed further lives, and caused additional damage.