There were a number of aftershocks following yesterday's 5.1 earthquake on El Hierro and up to now (2 am) the strongest of those were a 3.7 (at 20 kms depth) and a 3.3 (at 12 kms depth) in the same sea area just west of El Hierro as the 5.1 at about 5:45pm yesterday. This quake was widely felt all over the western Canary Islands and on La Gomera. I heard it and slightly felt it myself here in Valle Gran Rey and met several people who did feel it even more. It is interesting to note that this earthquake was of a relatively long duration of up to 15 seconds, according to some reports.
Some scaremongers are trying to connect the big waves coming in from the Atlantic to the recent quake(s). This is absolute nonsense: The strong swell is due to the very deep depressions in the North Atlantic that have produced hurricane force winds over parts of Northern Europe, especially Ireland, Britain and France. Even bigger waves are expected to arrive in the Canaries today and Sunday emanating from the succession of storms there over the next few days. The El Hierro quakes do NOT cause any waves/tsunamis !
There were no reports of damage caused by yesterday's shock, but some minor roads were hit by rockfalls and subsequently closed.
Update lunchtime:
The seismic activity has decreased considerably and the 30 tourists trapped at two remote beaches due to blocked access roads are reported to have been brought out of there.
There were no reports of damage caused by yesterday's shock, but some minor roads were hit by rockfalls and subsequently closed.
Update lunchtime:
The seismic activity has decreased considerably and the 30 tourists trapped at two remote beaches due to blocked access roads are reported to have been brought out of there.
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| Yesterday's El Hierro tremor location and magnitude |
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| This is how yesterday's El Hierro 5.1 quake registered on La Gomera |
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