AT least 600 people have been evacuated from their homes after relentless earthquakes rocked Granada on Tuesday.
Authorities ordered residents to leave six apartment blocks in Las Gabias, southwestern Granada, after walls cracked following dozens of tremors throughout the day.
The buildings contain 371 homes in total, Andalucian emergency services minister Antonio Sanz said, with residents now being housed in public shelters while experts assess whether it is safe for them to return.
READ MORE: Granada earthquake: Residents tell of terror as second powerful quake rocks city in four days
Officials said the evacuation was a precautionary measure and none of the apartment blocks appeared to be at imminent risk of collapse.
“The situation will now be evaluated, but there is no imminent danger,” Sanz said.
“We are going to analyse whether there is structural damage and, in the meantime, they have been evacuated as a precaution.”
The evacuations followed a 4.8-magnitude earthquake, with an epicentre in Alhendín, which shook the city at 10.37am on Tuesday.
The tremor was followed by at least nine further shocks throughout the day, including at least four measuring more than magnitude four.
Terrified residents spilled into the streets as debris from damaged buildings crushed cars and felled trees across Granada, with nine streets currently cordoned off amid safety concerns.
Further tremors continued through the night, with 2.3 and 2.5-magnitude jolts shaking the city at 4.29am and 5.43am respectively.
Spain’s National Geographic Institute (IGN) has logged a total of 493 earthquakes in the region since Saturday, when a powerful magnitude-five tremor first caused panic across the city.
The phenomenon is known as a seismic swarm – a sequence of multiple earthquakes occurring in a relatively small area over a short period of time.
Granada lies in one of Spain’s most seismically active areas, criss-crossed by a network of active faults capable of producing earthquakes.
READ MORE: WATCH: Granada earthquake leaves three injured and forces evacuation of iconic Alhambra palace
The president of the Official College of Geologists, Nieves Sanchez Guitian, said the earthquakes recorded on Tuesday were ‘within the normal range.’
She added: “A fault does not necessarily release all its energy at once; in this case, it is releasing it over a longer period and through successive tremors.
“It is clear that this is the same place, the same fault and the same geological area.
“The accumulated tension is being released gradually, which is positive because it means there is less damage.”
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